Health Authorities Say Unsure of First SARS Case

Amid growing SARS fears, the health authorities said that the 41-year-old man believed to be the nation`s first SARS case might suffer from pneumonia not the flue-like Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

˝The patient has been treated with antibiotics and is already recovering from high fever and lung infection.˝ Said Kim Hwa-jung, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare and Chairman of the Central SARS Control Committee, at a press interview on April 30. ˝It will take two or three more days to confirm the case, but it looks more likely that he is suffering from pneumonia.˝

˝His lung looks okay on the X-ray film and the symptoms of respiratory infection has also gone,˝ said Dr. Kwon Joon-wook, chief quarantine officer at the National Institute of Health, during a briefing. ˝We cannot jump to a conclusion just yet and the advisory panel will review the matter again.˝

Once the panel confirms that the case is pneumonia or a disease irrelevant to SARS, the man known as K will be removed from the list of suspected patients. ˝We will follow the panel`s instructions for any further measures,˝ Kwan added.

NIH traced back 91 passengers - 77 Koreans and 11 foreigners who were aboard the same flight as K, and called them to find out if they have any SARS symptom. 77 out of the 79 Koreans and 6 of the 11 foreigners were found to be okay. And 4 Koreans and 2 foreigners who were sitting near K are now kept in isolation.

As of April 30, 58 people reported SARS symptoms, with a new report filed on the day. Of the total, suspected cases are 14.

Meantime, the government held a deputy minister-level meeting at its Gwacheon Complex. At the meeting presided over Minister Kim, participants agreed to put up strong defenses against SARS by keeping suspected people in isolation and setting up regional quarantine offices.

They, in particular, decided to beef up the mobile emergency network, a government anti-terror project, urging hospitals to report any suspected patients to NIH on a daily basis. Under the plan, the government already distributed in May last year personal digital assistants (PDAs) to 125 emergency medical organizations and 47 infectious disease departments nationwide against any possible biochemical attack such as anthrax,

The Korean Medical Association and the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases held a symposium on the day for doctors at clinics to discuss SARS symptoms and precautionary measures.

Jin Lee leej@donga.com