The Health Protection Agency is working closely with Britain's Chinese community leaders on their concerns regarding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). With members of the community more likely to visit China and South East Asia - or having contact with people who have recently visited these areas - significant anxieties have been raised.

The HPA is contacting all major Chinese media outlets in this country and producing a set of frequently answered questions which will be available on the Health Protection Agency's website.

Dr Kai Lau, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Northwest London Health Protection Unit, added:

"By working with the Chinese community we hope to address their concerns, provide clear advice and dispel any misconceptions that they, and other people, may have."

"It is understandable that there is concern among the Chinese community, but based on currently available evidence, close contact with an infected person poses the highest risk of spread from one person to another.

"If the impression is unjustifiably created that the risk of catching SARS is much greater than it actually is, unnecessary disruption can be caused to people's everyday activities, which will affect everyday lives and businesses. It can also fuel a misguided belief that being Chinese makes a person more likely to be infected, even if there is no recent history of travel to other areas.

"There are also misconceptions about traditional Chinese medicine - traditional Chinese medicines do not provide any protection against SARS nor do they prevent it from being passed on to others."

In those affected areas of the world where there has been spread of SARS in the community, there are control measures to prevent people with SARS and their contacts from travelling. The chance of meeting someone with SARS within the Chinese community in Britain is therefore negligible, even if the people you meet have recently returned from abroad.

Experience from around the world has shown that SARS is most likely to spread from close contacts of people who are ill. There is no evidence of infection being transmitted from people who do not have symptoms. For this reason, people who have recently returned from affected areas and do not have symptoms do not need to change their daily routine in any way. Nevertheless, SARS is a serious problem, and it is essential that both Chinese and non-Chinese communities in Britain are aware of the symptoms, which include a fever and cough or shortness of breath. If anyone develops these symptoms within 2 to 10 days after travel to an affected area they should stay at home and telephone their general practitioner (family doctor), or NHS Direct (tel 0845 4647) for advice. The sooner cases are identified and isolated the less risk there is of transmission to anyone else.

The Health Protection Agency has made health care professionals and travellers in this country aware of SARS, so that any possible cases are recognised and necessary action is taken to prevent spread to others. In parts of the world affected by SARS there are additional measures in place (such as screening at airports and quarantine) to prevent spread to other countries. The United Kingdom is not an affected area and so such control measures are not necessary here.

For the latest information on SARS, please visit: http://www.phls.org.uk/topics_az/SARS/public_page.htm