China reported one new suspected SARS case for the past 24 hours, the Chinese Ministry of Public Health said Wednesday.

The newly reported suspected SARS patient, surnamed Zhang, was now in critical condition, said the ministry's daily surveillance report.

Zhang is a 49-years-old retired women doctor. She once shared the same hospital ward for treatment with Li, Beijing's only diagnosed SARS case.

Already under isolation in Beijing's Ditan Hospital from the evening on April 22, the patient also reported respiratory distress and other chronical diseases.

She was hospitalized for lung infection in Jiangong Hospital on April 12, reported fever on April 19 and transferred to Ditan Hospital on April 22.

According to Zhang's clinical symptoms and the epidemiological investigation, she was confirmed to be a suspected SARS case on April 27 afternoon.

The ministry said in the report that the diagnosed SARS patient, named Li, in Beijing is in relatively stable condition and has had normal temperature for 12 straight days.

The six suspected SARS patients in Beijing continued receiving medical treatment in Beijing Ditan Hospital, the ministry said.

For those now under medical observation in Beijing, one reported fever while 13 more have been removed from observation.

The SARS patient in Anhui Province, surnamed Song, saw further recovery and reported normal temperature for five straight days.

None of the people with close contact with her have shown abnormal symptoms so far and 38 among them have been removed from observation.

China's Health Ministry said there were 18 visitors from Australian, Russia, Republic of Korea, Japan to Institute of Virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), where one diagnosed and one suspected SARS cases have worked for a while.

The ministry has informed the visitors, countries concerned and the World Health Organization of relevant information and no abnormal problems have been reported yet.

Experts believed the SARS case in the Chinese mainland in April might have been caused by lab infection.

The Chinese mainland has reported one diagnosed SARS case and one suspected case in Anhui and one diagnosed SARS case and six suspected cases in Beijing since April 22.

No other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have reported diagnosed or suspected SARS case.

(Xinhau News Agency April 28, 2004)