Aus imports Sars for research

2003-04-27 12:40

Sydney - Australian health authorities confirmed on Sunday they had imported samples of the deadly Sars virus in order to conduct research into the disease.

Commonwealth chief medical officer Richard Smallwood said samples of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus were needed so Australia could develop a diagnositic test to confirm the presence of the virus.

"If we did not import the virus for vital work we would risk delaying the validation of diagnostic tests for Sars and impair our national capacity to make a rapid diagnosis of suspected cases," Smallwood said.

"We are ensuring Australia plays its part in the global effort to find a reliable disgnostic test for this new disease."

There have been no deaths in Australia from Sars, although four probable cases of the disease have been reported in the country and a nine-year-old boy is being monitored after displaying Sars-like symptoms.

Smallwood said the virus was being kept at the National High Security Quarantine Laboratory in Melbourne, which has been designed to handle the highest risk category of viruses.

"Sophisticated control systems in the laboratory prevent the accidental release of the virus into the environment so there is no risk to the general public from this work," he said.

Several Australian laboratories are expected to participate in the search for a Sars diagnostic test.

Health Minister Kay Patterson said researchers would also examine whether Sars could cross the species barrier and be spread by animals.

Australian scientists last week were invited to participate in a UN-run plan to infect animals with Sars to help understand how it originated and spread.

Scientists at the government's top research organisation, CSIRO, said the experiment was suggested by UN health agencies as part of global efforts to understand and fight Sars.

The respiratory illness has killed at least 293 people and infected nearly 5 000, most of them in Asia.

- AFX