In the backdrop of the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s emergency travel advice issued on the basis of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in several countries across the world, the Union Health Ministry has asked the entire public health machinery in the country to keep an eye on any such reported incidence of the disease in the country. A recent meeting convened at the behest of the ministry here decided against issuing any official alert without proof of the incidence of the disease in India.

The WHO had announced that there are reports of more than 150 new suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an a typical pneumonia for which cause has not yet been determined during the last one week from several parts of the world.

According to WHO, the diseases has been reported from Canada, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The WHO had also issued an emergency guidance for travelers and airlines due to the spread of SARS to several countries in a short period of time.

Though there are no recommendation for people to restrict travel to any destination, WHO is offering guidance to governments, airlines, physicians and travelers on the nature of the disease. It is known that the exact nature of the infection is still under investigation and this guidance is based on the early information available to WHO.

The Indian health authorities informed that they are yet to receive any official communication from WHO in this regard. However, the meeting laid down the parameters for deciding the kind of cases that could be considered as being caused by the disease. Accordingly, a person could be considered infected if he is suffering from more that 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, has one or more respiratory related symptoms such as cough or difficulty in breathing, had been in contact with a person who is known to suffer from disease with the past 10 days or had traveled within the past 10 days to places which have reported cases of the disease.

Meanwhile, a WHO communiqué on March 18 said that majority of cases are concentrated in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and Hanoi, Viet Nam. "Singapore is currently reporting the third largest number of cases. All reported cases in other parts of the world are linked to travel within the past 10 days to one of these destinations. It remains undetermined whether an outbreak of atypical pneumonia in southern China, which began in November, is related to the current outbreaks," it has stated.

WHO said that awareness of the disease is now very high throughout the world. Surveillance is proving to be sensitive, with suspected cases rapidly detected, reported to national authorities and WHO, and investigated according to the standard case definition.
" Protective measures and strict barrier nursing procedures are now in place in hospitals in all areas where cases have been reported. In areas where person-to-person transmission has occurred, these measures are expected to decrease transmission to health staff and families of patients. Strict protective measures in countries managing imported cases are likewise expected to reduce the risk that the disease will spread to others within these countries.

Efforts are under way to expedite identification of the causative agent, improve diagnostic precision, and develop a diagnostic test. A network of 11 highly qualified laboratories in 10 countries was established on March 17 and has begun data sharing and regular reporting on 18th, it said.

Many countries have activated well-designed national preparedness plans for dealing with an emerging infectious disease. The global surveillance system, which WHO coordinates, is working well in the ways needed to prevent the outbreak from becoming a global epidemic.