WHO's Heymann sees SARS identified within weeks

Reuters Health Last Updated: 2003-04-07 10:00:30 -0400 (Reuters Health)

MADRID (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's infectious diseases chief said a mystery respiratory virus that has killed more than 80 people should be identified within weeks but he feared it might be carried by people without symptoms.

WHO's David Heymann was asked in an interview with Spain's El Pais daily how long it would take to identify the source of the illness, which has spread through Asia and beyond, killing more than 80 people and infecting more than 2,400.

"Given the speed with which the 11 laboratories we have coordinated are making progress, not long. Not long could be weeks or months, but I think it will be weeks."

He said the next stage was to develop a test for the disease and find out if there were carriers of the pneumonia-like virus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), who were not showing symptoms.

"If there are people who have the virus and don't show symptoms, we are lost, because that would mean it had spread throughout the world, as it is easily contracted," Heymann was quoted as saying.

"That was how AIDS was transmitted before it was discovered. We still don't know if this is the case, that's why we need a test," he added.

He also said finding a treatment and vaccine would take "a long time."

The SARS outbreak started in southern China late last year before showing up in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Germany and elsewhere in recent weeks.