Beijing reports one suspected SARS case
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2004-04-22 19:59

China's Health Ministry spokesman said Thursday that one suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) case was reported in Beijing.

The female patient, 20, surnamed Li, was a nurse with the Beijing Jiangong Hospital, the ministry said.

She is now hospitalized in Beijing's Ditan Hospital and has been examined twice by a medical expert team of the ministry.

Li began to show such symptoms as trembling, fever and cough on April 5 and was admitted into the Beijing Jiangong Hospital on April 7.

Seven days later, she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the People's Hospital affiliated to the Beijing University, according to the ministry.

After April 19, two relatives who accompanied the patient began to show symptoms of fever, prompting the hospital to gear up the early warning system for SARS.

She was then diagnosed as a SARS suspect by the experts and the Beijing Health Bureau reported the case to the health ministry on April 22.

The Beijing municipal government has activiated the SARS warning mechanism, started to disinfect her residence and monitor the 171 people that had close contact with her, five of them that had fever having been isolated for further observation.

The health ministry demanded the health departments at all levels to strengthen the monitoring of any possible outbreak of the epidemic.

The ministry has informed the World Health Organizatin and the Hong Kong, Macao special administrative regions about the case.