UN health agency sends team to China to probe SARS case

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today dispatched a team of experts to Guangzhou, China, to investigate a case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The six-person group will join with counterparts from China's Ministry of Health to look into the recent occurrence of a confirmed case of SARS in the city.

The agency said the joint mission's work will centre around the potential human, animal and environmental sources of the SARS infection.

The WHO team will be headed by Dr. Robert Breiman, an epidemiologist from the United States who specializes in emerging infectious diseases.

On Monday, the agency confirmed that a 32-year-old television producer had contracted the potentially fatal illness. He was reported to be in stable condition, and the virus did not appear to be spreading.

Characterized by flu-like symptoms, SARS broke out in the late 2002, killing over 700 people and infecting more than 8,000 worldwide.