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Hamburg/Beijing (pte036/15.04.2003/14:42) - The German biotechnology firm Artus http://www.artus-biotech2.de has discovered a test for the SARS virus. The high-speed test makes it possible to prove whether the patient is infected with the Corona viruses, which is now thought to be the cause of SARS. The test results are available within a mere two hours, in contrast to the previous waiting time of ten days, reports BBC-Online http://news.bbc.co.uk . In the meantime the virus is spreading rapidly in China, causing major concern for Chinese health officials.
Artus has been working with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) in Hamburg http://www.bni.uni-hamburg.de on the development of the test procedure. Due to the fact that over 3000 cases of SARS have been found throughout the world, mainly in south-east Asia, this new test will help to quickly establish whether or not the virus is present, even in suspected cases.
China has been criticised by WHO (World Health Organisation) for withholding the fact that the first cases of SARS were discovered in November last year. The mayor of Beijing recently admitted that people infected with SARS were first discovered on 1st March. The government did not report the disease until one month later.
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