At least 133 people are also in isolation in Anhui province, reports said.

Chinese authorities said April 22 that a researcher at the Beijing-based Institute of Virology contracted SARS and infected a nurse who took care of her at a Beijing hospital.

The researcher's mother has since died while the nurse's relatives and contacts have gone down with symptoms of the disease.

As of April 28, there were six suspected and two confirmed cases in Beijing and Anhui, although no new cases had been reported for two days.

In response to the scare, the Institute of Virology has been closed and emergency inspection teams are being rushed around the country to check if health guidelines are being followed.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 1, 2004
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