More suspected of having SARS

Another three suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome are being investigated in Australia.

Another three suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome are being investigated in Australia. More than 10,500 calls have been made to a national phone line for information about SARS. Two women have been quarantined in Fremantle hospital after showing symptoms of the virus.One of the women visited Hong Kong in the last two weeks and the other recently arrived from Singapore.In New South Wales a 9-year-old boy has been admitted to hospital with symptoms of the virus.Meanwhile, three children who have been in isolation at Melbourne’s Monash Medical Centre for several days have been released.Professor Richard Doherty from the centre says the children have recovered, but must remain confined at a home until Friday as a precaution.”We don’t have an alternative diagnosis so we have to behave as if SARS is still a possibiliy here, despite our scepticism,” he said.A two-year-old girl remains in Monash with symptoms of the virus, but is expected to be released within days.Health authorities say there are still no confirmed cases in Australia and a test for the virus is still weeks away.The Quarantine Act has been changed to include the pneumonia-like virus, allowing authorities to forcibly detain people suspected of having SARS.Gary Dowse from the WA Health Department says the revision makes sense. “I think that’s a sensible precaution given that we’re dealing with a new virus which has patterns of transmission which mean a lot of people can acquire the infection, particularly in hospital facilities.”We’re still learning about the virus, it’s a virus we wouldn’t like to have loose in our community so it makes sense to put in place control measures.”(Source: ABC Online; Tuesday, April 8, 2003. 11:46am (AEST))