The Health Ministry maintains that there are no known Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases in Malaysia as at today. All suspected cases have proven to be unrelated to the mysterious illness.

At a press conference this afternoon, Health Ministry director-general Dr Mohamad Taha Arif said all 29 cases of suspected SARS infection were checked against World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria and cleared.

"Of the 29 notifications, 27 were received at government (health) facilities and two at government hospitals," he said.

No quarantine

Mohamad Taha said a separate attempt to trace 52 Malaysians who had stayed at Hong Kong's Metropole Hotel between Feb 18 and March 3 had located 35 persons - all of whom have been found to be healthy.

(A Chinese national who stayed at the hotel during that period died of SARS, prompting the ministry to issue an alert to Malaysians who had also stayed at the hotel during that period.)

"We are still looking for the rest. They have still not been found because we have incomplete addresses. As the time period has exceeded 10 days (for the incubation period) and (given that) no SARS cases have been reported, they are classified as not infected," he said.

"However, the ministry is also asking those who stayed at the Metropole to call at the nearest clinic or hospital for further examination for SARS symptoms."

Asked if family members of any individuals with related symptoms have been quarantined, he said no such measure has been taken.

"If they have SARS symptoms, we will do so," he said.

No truth to rumours

Commenting o­n rumours that SARS patients had died in local hospitals, Mohamad Taha said the ministry had no information o­n any such cases.

"No cases were reported to us. If there are cases, the hospitals have to inform us. It is wrong for doctors not to inform us and we can take action (against them). These persons could have died of something else," he said, adding that the rumours may have arisen out of public anxiety.

"With our experience with the Nipah and the Hand-Foot-Mouth diseases (previously), our (health personnel) are attuned to crises. The public should not be unduly alarmed but they should also not be careless either."

He further advised parents and teachers to be vigilant and to refer children who may display any symptoms to a medical facility.

Mohamad Taha also said Malaysians are currently advised to delay plans to visit countries with reported SARS cases unless travel is absolutely necessary.

Asked about surveillance measures at entry points, he said health officials have been stationed at airports to check o­n individuals coming into the country from affected areas - mainly China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.

"Our officials work o­n shifts according to the flights coming in. At airports, we check individuals before they are allowed to enter the country. We are also distributing leaflets o­n SARS symptoms," he said.

"Last week, crew o­n a flight from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur reported seven persons with flu-like symptoms. Our people at the airport took them to the Putrajaya hospital. We checked and found it was not SARS so they were discharged."

Needle in the haystack

Asked about measures in place at the Johor-Singapore entry points, Mohamad Taha said the ministry has been distributing leaflets to people. Other measures are being considered.

"About 100,000 persons pass the checkpoints daily so it is difficult to distribute leaflets to every individual. We are planning to put up a banner with information o­n SARS in the next few days," he explained.

"We are working very closely with Singapore o­n this. So far, we are not restricting people from going to work there. We hope Singapore can contain the outbreak. We are confident that they are capable of doing so."

On the ministry's requests for Malaysian embassies in affected areas to furnish them with lists of returning persons, Mohamad Taha said that, apart from Hong Kong, embassy staff in Hanoi have sent back information.

"Canada informed us about people who were o­n a flight with (infected Canadians). o­ne man was said to look like a Malaysian but we are still trying to trace the person. No address was given so it is like looking for a needle in a haystack," he added.

SARS, which was first detected last month, sparked a worldwide health alert after cases were reported in 13 countries within weeks.

The largest number of cases have been recorded in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.

According to the WHO statistics updated yesterday, a total of 1,408 persons are confirmed to have been infected. Of this number, 53 have died.