Australia plays down Sars report

The Sars virus has caused widespread concern

Two flight attendants tested for Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Australia are unlikely to have the disease, health officials said.

The New South Wales Health Ministry tested the two after they arrived from China and had symptoms including shortness of breath, rashes and fever.

"The test results so far and the clinical condition of the two people indicates that they do not... have SARS, acting director of the state's communicable diseases authority, Paul Armstrong, told reporters.

Sars spread from Asia as far as South Africa and Canada, killing about 800 people worldwide and infecting at least 8,400 from late 2002 onwards.

Chinese officials have reported one confirmed case of Sars and two suspected cases in the Chinese province of Guangdong in recent weeks, months after the disease was considered contained.

The WHO says the new suspected cases in China are isolated, not part of a cluster

The 32-year-old man who was confirmed as having Sars came from Guangdong province, and has since recovered.

Referring to the flight attendants, New South Wales health official Paul Armstrong said: "They have been in China within the incubation period for Sars.

"Because of that, certain protocols and procedures have been put in place."

During the earlier outbreak, Australia had only one confirmed case of Sars, a foreign tourist who became ill after arriving from Hong Kong but later recovered.

'False alarms'

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that fear of the virus was causing false alarms in China.

Thousands of civet cats have been killed after suspected links to Sars

WHO spokesman Bob Dietz said it was still difficult to test for Sars and people with colds or a fever could be misdiagnosed.

His comments came as Chinese media reported that a patient suspected of having Sars in the southern city of Shenzhen was in fact suffering from pneumonia.

The authorities in Guangdong had ordered the culling of all animals that were suspected of carrying the Sars virus by 10 January.

Thousands of civet cats have been killed, mostly by drowning, electrocution and incineration, after researchers found links between the strain of the first Sars case and civets.

The cull was extended to badgers, raccoon dogs and other animals served as local delicacies.