UN/WHO: The World Health Organisation has withdrawn its warning against travel to Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, saying that the SARS outbreaks there are now under control, writes Carl O'Brien.
As a result, the organisers of the Special Olympics say they are hopeful that the Hong Kong team will be able to travel to Ireland to compete in the games.
Athletes from Hong Kong and from China, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines were told by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, that they would not be welcome to attend the games because of the extent of the SARS outbreak in the Far East.
Mr Martin indicated, however, that athletes would be allowed to attend if their countries were removed from the WHO's list of infected regions 10 days before the games began.
A spokeswoman for the Special Olympics said that they hoped there would be some "very good news" shortly for Hong Kong. The WHO has already declared the Philippines free of SARS and its athletes are now expected to attend the games.
However, even if the invitation to Hong Kong is reissued, it is not clear that the team will stay in Clonmel, its host town. The town found itself at the centre of a national debate when Clonmel Borough Council voted not to accept the athletes because of the risk posed by the SARS virus.
The WHO decision to remove the no travel advisory on Hong Kong, issued on April 2nd, was a huge relief for the former British colony, where the trade-reliant economy has suffered severely.
The WHO meanwhile said that the spread of SARS in Taiwan was "worrisome" - the island reported 55 new cases yesterday. In a statement on its website (www.who.int), the organisation said however that there had not been an "explosive escalation" in the number of cases in Taiwan.
Taiwan announced yesterday that it would be removing a visa ban on business travellers from China, Hong Kong and Singapore to ease the impact on its economy. However, a ban on tourists from those countries will remain in place for another two weeks.
A Hong Kong scientist has said it is likely that the SARS virus jumped to humans from civet cats, which are eaten as a delicacy in southern China. The civet, a nocturnal mammal similar to a mongoose, carries the virus in its stool and in respiratory secretions, but the cats are themselves unaffected, Dr Yuen Kwok-yung, head of the University of Hong Hong's microbiology department, said after releasing the results of a study into the source of SARS.
The finding might help to prevent another such epidemic by encouraging greater hygiene, he said.
Southern Chinese enjoy eating wild game, including civet cats and endangered animals, but this could facilitate animal viruses jumping the species barrier to humans, scientists say.