Indonesia’s first SARS case is British

A British man has been diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome……

A British man has been diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome…… A British man has been diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Indonesia. The 47-year-old businessman is Indonesia’s first case of the disease despite the country’s close proximity to Singapore where there have been more than 130 cases. The man, who has not been named but is believed to be of Chinese origin, is being treated in a hospital in Jakarta, where he was admitted on 9 April. It is known he had visited Hong Kong and Singapore, where the disease is most prevalent, before arriving in Indonesia. The World Health Organization has so far praised Indonesia, which now joins 18 other countries with reported SARS cases, for the preventive measures it has put in place to contain the disease. But since confirmation of the disease by Health Ministry spokeswoman, Mariani Reksoprodjo, further measures to prevent its spread have been implemented. More stringent medical checks are being made at ports and airports and an emergency decree allowing anyone suspected to have the illness to be placed in quarantine has been enacted. The Indonesian Government has also stopped sending migrant workers to other Asian countries. It is understood nine other people with SARS-like symptoms are currently under observation in Indonesia. More than 120 people world-wide have died from the disease out of nearly 3,000 cases in total. (Source: BBC; Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 12:47 GMT 13:47 UK)