A 35-year old man in southern China's Guangdong province is suspected of having SARS, Hong Kong's health department said today.
China confirmed last Monday its first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome since a world outbreak was declared over in July, and a young woman, also in southern China, is suspected of having the flu-like disease.
Hong Kong health department consultantMr Thomas Tsang, citing information from Guangdong health authorities, said the new suspected case had been isolated in hospital while tests were done.
An official of the Guangdong health administration declined to comment on the report that a new suspected SARS case had emerged.
The SARS virus first emerged in Guangdong late in 2002 and went on to infect more than 8,000 people in nearly 30 countries, killing about 800 of them.
The one confirmed SARS case this year has been linked to coronaviruses also found in wild civet cats, which are seen as a delicacy in southern China and sold in crowded animal markets.