- FOSHAN, China (CNN) -- A
WHO official says the man first diagnosed with a mystery virus did not
spread the disease to his immediate family, a finding that has baffled
medical experts.
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- The investigation into the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome comes as another WHO official said the worst may be over for Singapore,
and the badly-hit area of Hong Kong searches for dozens of families who
have missed an isolation order.
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- More than 2,387 people have been infected with the disease,
which has been dubbed SARS and has so far killed 79 around the world.
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- A team of WHO experts are in Foshan, a city in Guangdong
province, to nail down the source of the outbreak, where the highly infectious
virus was first discovered.
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- Officials have been trying to get access to the epicenter
of the disease in south China since the WHO first put out a global alert
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- It was only in the last few days the Chinese government
allowed WHO officials to visit the region, which has a history of unusual
viral outbreaks that can be traced back to animals.
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- But even as officials honed in on the first person believed
to have contracted the illness, early findings show the little-understood
virus may be hard to pinpoint and more complex than first thought.
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- "This is going to be a tricky task because this
particular individual apparently infected four people, but did not infect
his four grown-up children who live with him," said Chris Powell,
a WHO spokesman on Friday.
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- Local efforts to warn the citizens of Guangdong have
been successful, Powell said, noting a fall in the number of recent SARS
cases there.
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- After days of global criticism about the country's response,
a Chinese medical official apologized Friday for "poor coordination"
in informing the public about SARS.
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- Li Liming, director of the Chinese Center for Disease
Control, told a press conference China could have done better, The Associated
Press reported.
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- In neighboring Hong Kong, which has closed schools and
quarantined hundreds, authorities said on Friday another 27 people contracted
SARS, bringing the total number of infections to 761.
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- Police in the city are still tracking down 58 families
who moved out of one block of a housing estate, where hundreds fell ill
to the disease, before an isolation order took effect.
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- The task force has so far contacted 55 families, but
there are concerns those who have not been in touch with the health department
could be spreading the disease.
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- The virus has so far spread to 15 countries, including
the United States, mostly by air travel. Fearful of its rapid spread, the
U.S. State Department has authorized departure for nonessential personnel
and their families in China.
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- It is a voluntary measure for diplomats and their families,
who have been given free flights out of the country.
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- The U.S. military has also banned its personnel from
traveling to Hong Kong and mainland China although no one in the United
States has died from the disease.
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- In some positive news, a WHO scientist David Mansoor
said the Singapore outbreak "is almost certainly over," but one
to two weeks were needed before it could know for sure.
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- Five people have died and 100 have been infected in recent
weeks in the city state, which has shut all schools and quarantined hundreds.
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- Singapore's health ministry officials said nearly all
infections have been traced to Esther Mok, a former air stewardess, who
caught the virus during a stay at a Hong Kong hotel in February.
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- In other developments:
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- * Australian health officials report three children who
arrived from Canada may have contracted SARS.
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- * Hong Kong airport officials say airlines have canceled
18 percent of flights into and out of the territory after a WHO warning.
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- * Japan reports three possible new cases, bringing its
total to 17. The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, south of Tokyo, cancels all
but "mission essential" port calls and other travel to China
and Hong Kong.
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- * Malaysian health authorities threaten jail terms of
up to two years for passengers who fail to declare if they have flu-like
symptoms.
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- * Thailand's travel agents says the country's tourism
industry faces a sharp decline in revenues and a fall in hotel bookings.
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- * China's financial capital Shanghai confirms a 40-year-old
woman was infected with a deadly flu-like virus.
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