There have been five suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

(SARS) in Israel, as of this writing. While the numbers are small, and the cases definitely diagnosed thus far have all proven negative, Ministry of Health officials held a meeting today to discuss what steps will be taken if there is an actual case of SARS in Israel. Health officials believe it is a matter of time until the first case appears in Israel, with many residents traveling to and from the Far East, a high-risk region.



Today's meeting comes after an elderly Be'er Sheva male who had just returned from China was admitted to the Soroka Medical Center with SARS symptoms. Almost immediately upon his admittance this morning, the man was placed in a quarantine unit. It has not yet been ascertained whether the man is in fact suffering from the disease, which has claimed hundreds of lives around the world thus far. On Saturday, a two-year old girl from a kibbutz in the north was also hospitalized with symptoms of SARS, after having returned from Australia via Honk Kong. By this morning, however, hertemperature had dropped.