KARACHI, March 25: No case of the killer Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) — which has claimed 17 lives in 13 countries and the Chinese administrative region of Hong Kong — has so far been reported from anywhere in Pakistan.

Yet the country cannot be certain that the fatal disease will not be “imported” into it in the near future, said doctors belonging to national and international agencies on Tuesday. Caution thus is of the essence.

Talking to Dawn from Islamabad, the WHO’s operations officer for Sindh, Dr Ghulam Nabi Qazi, told this reporter that Pakistan has been lucky in that no SARS case has so far been reported.

However, he hinted that the dreaded ailment could be transmitted through infected travellers. Thus all necessary precautions be taken, vis-a-vis migrant workers, khepias and the like.

In response to a question, he said the country in all likelihood will not be imposing a ban on travel to countries where fears of an outbreak abound. “How can the government impose a ban. Business and other considerations will not allow such an extreme step.”

Another doctor said all migrant workers and khepias be screened for the dreaded disease as well as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

“As you know prevalence of HIV among these two high-risk groups is rising and they can bring in HIV and AIDS.

“Now we know that these groups can also bring in the new scourge called SARS. So, screening of the blood of people belonging to these two groups has assumed even grater importance.”

The NIH’s doctor told Dawn that SARS’s symptoms were similar to that of flue. “But this disease causes much more distress than flue.

“What’s worrying for all of us is that its micro-organism hasn’t been isolated as yet.” International agencies, like the WHO, were working feverishly to isolate the same.

He was of the view that any person with flue-like symptoms be immediately taken to a doctor. “But all doctors should keep in mind that they should not be aggressive in treating the syndrome.”

Elaborating, he said misdiagnosis or mishandling of SARS can worsen the patient’s condition fast. The physician talked of the need to educate all general physicians about the killer syndrome.

Meanwhile, reports coming out of Manila say that the Philippines government is considering imposing a ban on travel to countries hit by the SARS.