Russia moves to halt Sars spread

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Russia moves to halt Sars spread

Aviation officials in Russia have ordered airlines and cargo carriers to stop selling tickets to mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).

The decision came as Russian health officials said that the country had its first known case of Sars, diagnosed on the basis of the patient's symptoms.

Laboratory tests have not yet confirmed the diagnosis.

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov is to chair a government meeting later today to decide on urgent measures to prevent the disease spreading to Russia.

So far more than 500 people have died of the disease, all of them in countries of East Asia or Canada.

Russia has more than 20 suspected cases of the disease, none of them confirmed.

Complete ban likely

Passengers already possessing tickets and cargo already arranged for transfer can still fly to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

However the Russian Civil Aviation Authority has warned airlines to prepare for a complete ban on all air links to China.

Such a ban would require an order by Russia's chief epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, and cabinet approval.

Meanwhile the authorities in Russia's Far Eastern Amur and Khabarovsk regions have partially closed their border with China.

Both regions have a booming cross-border trade with neighbouring areas of China.

Another Far Eastern region - Primorye - announced a ban on visa-free travel to and from China for a month.

Local media quoted Mr Onishchenko as saying that a man in Blagoveshchensk, in the Amur region, had been diagnosed with Sars based on the "full clinical picture" observed by doctors.

Denis Soinikov, a 25-year-old resident of the city, was said to be in a serious condition.

Blood and other samples sent to Moscow for laboratory tests have not yet confirmed the diagnosis.