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WHO sends virus team to S. China
GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- A team of disease control experts from the World Health Organization is preparing to travel to Guangdong province in southern China to confer with authorities there on efforts to combat the deadly SARS virus. Guangdong, which borders the former British colony of Hong Kong, is where many experts think severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, originated. The five WHO experts are currently in the Chinese capital Beijing and are expected to travel south to Guangdong later Thursday. The decision to allow the WHO team to visit Guangdong comes amid mounting criticism of the Chinese government over its secretiveness about the disease. (China under pressure) On Wednesday Chinese authorities reported that 361 new SARS cases and nine new deaths had occurred in the province in March. Of the 2,223 SARS cases and 78 deaths reported by the WHO in 15 countries, 1,153 cases and 40 deaths are from Guangdong.(Country breakdown) The WHO also cited nine new cases in Taiwan and Singapore, apparently related to travel to Hong Kong. It said there was a "pattern of transmission" of SARS in Hong Kong that was "different from what is being seen in the vast majority of other SARS outbreaks, and is not yet fully understood." The WHO Wednesday advised travelers heading for Hong Kong and Guangdong to postpone non-essential travel to those areas because of SARS. Announcing the advisory, David Heymann, the WHO's head of communicable diseases, said it was first time in recent years the United Nations health body had made such a recommendation. WHO spokesman Iain Simpson told CNN information suggested there could be a different kind of transmission in Hong Kong other than through direct contact -- something the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has speculated. The WHO is particularly concerned with a rise in cases beyond the hospital clusters in Hong Kong which suggests the spread of the virus might be affected by the environment, such as water or sewage systems, rather than just by droplets. Hong Kong officials opened four holiday camps in the territory to serve as quarantine centers for 240 residents from one block in an apartment complex in Kowloon which has seen a rapid spread of infections. The organization issued the travel advisory after at least nine foreign businessmen contracted the virus during visits to Hong Kong and returned with it to their home countries, Heymann said. The virus is being spread around the world by air travelers. Hong Kong has become the epicenter for the virus with nearly 700 cases and 16 deaths. On Tuesday, panic buying swept Hong Kong supermarkets fueled by a rumor the territory was shortly to be declared an infected area and placed under total quarantine.(SARS rumors) That rumor was swiftly squashed by the government, which scrambled to contact local journalists and sent text messages to mobile phones across the territory. On Wednesday, Hong Kong reported 23 new cases of SARS, down sharply from a rise of 75 the day before. Dozens of flights into and out of Hong Kong have been cancelled, with serious implications for the territory's already recession-hit economy. Pressure growsMeanwhile, U.S. health officials say they will likely be increasing pressure on the Chinese authorities to collaborate with international efforts to control the virus. "It's important to see if we can work in more of a collaborative fashion with China," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson told reporters. "I think we're going to put on more pressure," he added. In other developments: • A Chinese delegation has been turned away from a New Zealand conference because of fears they might have the deadly flu-like virus. • Canadian health officials warn that a fresh bout of SARS cases may surface in Ontario later this week as a 10-day incubation period for the virus passes. • Vietnam, one of the first areas to report cases of the mystery disease, has not recorded any infections for over a week although health officials there and the WHO remain on alert for new cases. • Australia advised citizens on Wednesday not to travel to Canada or affected Asian countries, while the United States planned to cut its diplomatic presence in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, authorizing the departure of non-essential employees and family members. • An American Airlines jet from Tokyo with 134 passengers and crew was quarantined at San Jose airport after several passengers displayed SARS-related symptoms. All of those traveling on the flight have since been cleared by medical officials. (SARS plane drama) • In Malaysia, a post-mortem is due to be carried out on the body of 65-year-old man who died last week after returning from China where he developed a high fever. If he did die from SARS it would be Malaysia's first death from the virus. Kuala Lumpur also ordered a freeze on imported labor from affected countries, according to a Reuters report. • Neighboring Singapore meanwhile has kept schools closed and has quarantined hundreds of residents in a bid to halt the spread of the disease. Almost 100 people have been infected with the disease in the city-state and four people have died. • Thailand says it will turn back foreigners suspected of suffering from SARS and will force those allowed in from affected countries to wear masks in public, according to an Associated Press report. • Continental Airlines says it's considering suspending the airlines' daily service between Hong Kong and New York because SARS fears are reducing the number of passengers on the route. (Travel blow) The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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