Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: Update 2

April 29, 2004

The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to maintain a heightened state of vigilance following reports of probable SARS cases in Beijing and Anhui Province in China. To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that nine cases are currently under investigation for SARS, including two that have been confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Health.

All cases appear to be traceable back to the infections associated with laboratory research at the National Institute of Virology in Beijing. The institute was conducting research on the SARS coronavirus, including the development of a vaccine. The institute has been closed, and all 200 employees have been placed under close observation.

The nine individuals under investigation include: a 26-year old laboratory researcher; the researcher's mother who is from Anhui province and has since deceased; a 20-year-old nurse who attended to the researcher in Beijing; the nurse's mother, father, aunt, and a woman who shared a hospital room with the nurse; a second researcher from the institute - a 31-year-old male; and a 49-year old retired doctor who was admitted to the same hospital ward as the nurse.
All nine individuals under investigation have been linked to chains of transmission involving close personal contact with an identified case. There is no evidence of wider transmission in the community. To date, nearly 700 contacts have been isolated or placed in quarantine.

Source: World Health Organization

The Public Health Agency of Canada is currently in consultation with the WHO and is aware that health authorities in China are actively responding to this incident and are working collaboratively with the WHO. The Public Health Agency of Canada does not recommend any travel restrictions.

The Public Health Agency of Canada routinely recommends that Canadian travellers consult their personal physician or a travel medicine clinic for an individual risk assessment prior to travelling anywhere outside of Canada.

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends as well, that travellers who become sick or feel unwell on their return to Canada should seek a medical assessment with their personal physician. Travellers should inform their physician without being asked, that they have been travelling or living outside of Canada, and where they have been.

For more information on severe acute respiratory syndrome, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada's SARS web site.

For previous travel advisories regarding SARS, please visit the Travel Medicine Program's advisories Archives.