Chinese girl's death on a train sparks SARS fears in Russia

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.