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Chinese girl's death on a train sparks SARS fears in Russia
Today, 12:31 PM

The death of a Chinese woman on a Russian train from suspected SARS has caused panic among the passengers and the media, and had 57 Chinese citizens taken off the train and put into hospital for examination.

Tsui Xin Yang, 23, was traveling across Russia from China with her family. Reportedly she was feeling unwell when she got on the train in the Far Eastern city of Blagoveshchensk, Russian news agencies said. At 8:30 a.m. her dead body was taken off the train at a station near the city of Kirovsk.

RIA Novosti quoted Kirovsk doctors as saying that the autopsy proved her death had been caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). However, the Interfax news agency quoted a railroad official as refuting these reports. Spokesman for the Gorkovskaya Railroad Levan Todua said that no autopsy could be performed because the Chinese embassy had refused to allow the procedure.

At the same time, Todua confirmed that doctors suspected SARS.

Meanwhile, all the Chinese citizens who were riding on the train have been rushed to hospital for examination and observation. Although none of them appear to be ill, they will all have to stay in hospital for a few days. According to doctors, since China has a reputation for being a potential source of epidemics, any possibility of spreading infection should be eliminated.

Russia’s top doctor, Gennady Onishchenko, who heads the Rospotrebnadzor state consumer rights supervision service, said that the situation was under control.

“There are no complications that could raise concerns among the Russian people,” he was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Onishchenko said the results of tests revealing the cause of death should be ready on Thursday. If SARS is confirmed, Yang will be the first person to die of SARS since 2003, when the World Health Organization announced that the SARS epidemics was over. Altogether, SARS has claimed over 900 lives.


中國女子染SARS在俄病故？ 中國稱瞭解中

中央社╱北京16日電


1名可能患有傳染疾病的中國女性日前在開往莫斯科的火車中病故。中國外交部發言人姜瑜今天表示，中國對此高度重視，有關方面正在進一步瞭解情況。

姜瑜下午在例行記者會回答媒體說，「這個情況我們高度重視，有關方面正在進一步瞭解情況。」

俄羅斯官員說，1名可能患有神秘傳染疾病的中國女子15日從俄國遠東城市開往莫斯科的火車途中死亡，當局已經封鎖這列火車，並且隔離車上同行的53名中國乘客。

中新社報導說，這些人都是來自中國的勞動移民。

俄羅斯網站上1份聲明則表示，「考量到中華人民共和國的流行病情況，我們已經採取各種必要措施避免傳染病散佈開來」。

中新社發自莫斯科的報導也說，這名女子所乘坐的車廂在吉洛夫車站與列車編組脫離以進行消毒。另外兩節車廂在沙利亞車站與列車編組脫離。

距離莫斯科東方850公里的吉洛夫當地官員表示，車上53名中國乘客已經送到傳染病醫院隔離，抽血檢驗的初步報告已經出來，但最後結論還需要幾天時間。

俄羅斯新聞社（RIA-Novosti）引述當地1名醫生表示，至少有4名乘客發燒，而病故的女子可能死於「非典型肺炎」。

不過，中新社報導表示，這些人僅有3人體溫稍高，並出現急性呼吸道病毒感染症狀。

部分報導引述地方醫療官員說，他們擔心該名女子罹患的是曾在亞洲地區造成數百人死亡的高度感染性「嚴重急性呼吸道症候群（SARS）」，但是地方衛生官員認為目前下定論還太早。