Beijing public health departments have responded quickly to the latest suspected SARS case found in south China's Guangdong Province and issued emergency measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

All the hospitals in Beijing should strengthen monitoring and examinations for fever cases, especially those from Guangdong, officials with the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said Saturday afternoon.

Guo Jiyong, deputy director of the bureau, led a team to check the city's airports and railway stations on their work on SARS prevention and control.

Guo said that all municipal entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments should strengthen temperature screening systems and send any travelers with a body temperature over 38 degrees Celsius to government-designated hospitals.

Special attention should be paid to the travelers from Guangdong and the bureau has kept a keen eye on the information about the suspected case in Guangdong, said Guo.

The latest suspected SARS case was confirmed on Friday afternoon and is receiving treatment at hospital in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong. The case has had normal temperatures for three days and is now in stable condition in Guangdong, according to local hospital sources.

This is the first suspected SARS case ever found since May 23 when WHO lifted the SARS-related travel advisory against Guangdong Province.

Beijing has already strengthened its prevention to SARS disease as a SARS patient was identified in Taiwan Province on Dec. 17. Beijing Municipal Health Bureau urged all labs doing research on SARS to strictly adhere to safety procedures.

Emergency task forces in the city's districts and counties are required to work on shifts night and day to help trace people who had close contact with SARS patients, if any.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2003)