Taipei (AsiaNews/agencies) – This morning a researcher in Taiwan resulted positive in a SARS test. The forty-four year old man, whose name was not revealed,  was conducting research on the very disease at the National Medical Center for  Prevention and Defence, an institute dedicated to researching medical cures.

At a press conference, Healthcare Minister, Chen Chien-jen, said the researcher was likely infected accidentally while carrying out experiments begun last Dec. 5.

The infected man was in Singapore from 7-10 Dec. with some colleagues to attend a seminar. The researcher and his family have been quarantined, but authorities have announced that they are all in good condition. His colleagues who attended the same seminar were considered not at risk. In Singapore, however, the government quarantined  70 persons as a precautionary measure.

This is the first SARS case in Taiwan since last 5 July, when the World Health Organization removed the island from the list of countries considered with a high risk of spreading the disease. Before the virus was contained, Taiwan recorded 346 SARS cases and 37 deaths.

Meanwhile this week in Beijing, an International Forum on Care and Prevention of SARS took place, during which many unanswered questions came forward. Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister of Healthcare said: "We still do not know from which animal the virus originally came from" and "a vaccine is still far from being discovered." According to experts in China another SARS crisis cannot be ruled out. The first outbreak occurred last November, infecting 5,327 persons and provoking 349 deaths and cost China around .1 billion. (SF)

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