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The first suspected case of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome illness Sars has turned up in Durban. A 30-year-old Durban man is in isolation at the Crompton Hospital in Pinetown after he returned from Vietnam via Singapore on Sunday. All those who have been in contact with him have also opted to be in self-quarantine. The hospital spokesperson,Marietjie Kelly, said the patient's temperature had come down but they want to be absolutely sure that he didn't pick up the disease. She said the patient was in a stable condition and did not pose a danger to others. It is believed that the man who was on a business trip to south east Asia, was taken to hospital yesterday morning. Sars has made its way half way around the world but no case of the disease has been diagnosed in South Africa. (Source: SABC News 7 May 2003)

South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases put the country on the alert for signs of the deadly SARS that has already infected 1804 and killed at least 62 by 1 April 2003. The institute said it had sent step-by-step instructions to the department and private and state medical laboratories detailing what to do should doctors suspect SARS in a patient. Doctors should be on the lookout for high temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celcius, they should look for respiratory illness such as coughing or shortness of breath, but most importantly they should get the patient's travel and contact history. According to the guidelines, patients suspected of having SARS must be isolated and barrier-nursed with mask, gown and glove precautions. Specimens including clotted blood and nasopharyngeal swabs should be sent to the institute. The epicentre of the disease is in Asia where the majority of the deaths have occurred. Scientists fear the disease may be spread by close human contact such as that experienced inside passenger planes. Meanwhile, doctors at the Nelspruit Medi-Clinic said that a man who was admitted to the hospital with some of the symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and who had recently travelled to Mozambique and Hong Kong appear to be suffering from malaria. (Source:SAPA, 1 April 2003) For update and more information on SARS Visit:http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/