The Health Ministry is tracing the 55 Malaysians who had stayed at a hotel in Hong Kong where an outbreak of an atypical pneumonia was believed to have originated.

"Once they are found, they will be referred to the nearest hospital immediately," Health Minister Chua Jui Meng told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

The minister was commenting o­n action taken upon today's news that 55 Malaysians were among the 2,000 guests at the Metropole Hotel in Mongkok, where the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was believed to have originated, from Feb 18 to March 3.

Officials believe the term is the exposure period to the killer virus.

Three o­n same floor

Authorities in Hong Kong said the disease was brought into the territory by a Guang Dong (a Chinese province bordering Hong Kong) professor who stayed o­n the ninth floor from Feb 21 to Feb 22. He died of the illness o­n March 4.

Three Singaporeans, two Canadians and a Chinese-American businessman - who all stayed at the same floor with the professor - were later found to have the disease. An airport worker who visited the ninth floor was also infected.

Three of the 55 Malaysians reportedly stayed o­n the ninth floor during this period.

Elaborating, Chua said his ministry and the operation room set up o­n March 18 have not received any information or suspected cases o­n the illness.

"We are also seeking help from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. We have called our ambassadors in those countries to report to the ministry immediately if any Malaysian was found with symptoms of the disease," he said.

No restriction

Noting that most of the cases reported at other countries involved hospital staff and medical practitioners, he said that Malaysia hospitals however have yet to report any incidence so far.

The disease has infected around 500 people worldwide, spreading from China to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Canada, Germany and Singapore.

Suspected cases have been reported in the United States, Britain and Australia.

Seventy-four people have been reportedly infected in Singapore. Following this, the Singapore government yesterday instructed to shut down all schools for a week, affecting some 500,000 children.

Over 860 Singaporeans - mostly senior citizens and infants - were also ordered to stayed at home this week in an unprecedented quarantine.

Asked whether Malaysia will restrict Singaporeans entry into Malaysia since Singapore has imposed quarantine, Chua said the government will not do so.

"Firstly, there is no advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) o­n this.

"Secondly, we still don't know what is the microbe causing SARS.

"Thirdly, there are cases of flu, pneumonia going o­n. Maybe they just the ordinary cases. So it would be very hard for us to notify who should not enter the country," he said.

Alert at checkpoints

Chua stressed that a health alert has been put out at immigration checkpoints. Pamphlets have also been distributed and adequate precautionary measures have been taken, including o­n airlines, he said.

"As the WHO and worldwide laboratories have not identified the microbe which causes the disease, we are vulnerable," he said.

Some experts believe the sickness is caused by a new virus from the paramyxovirus family - a large group of the microbes that includes germs that cause measles, mumps and respiratory infections. But the WHO said there could be other reasons.

Chua said health director-general Dr Mohd Taha Arif will divulge more details o­n the SARS outbreak tomorrow.