A second patient has been admitted to a Dublin hospital today with suspected symptoms of the pneumonia-like virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The person is currently undergoing tests in a Dublin hospital. It is believed they had recently returned from a trip to South East Asia.
Meanwhile, a man admitted to St James Hospital yesterday with symptoms of the virus is recovering well, according to the National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC). This patient is also understood to have recently returned to Ireland on a flight from South-East Asia.
Dr Darina O'Flanagan, director of the NDSC, said the man's symptoms may not be associated with the virus.
News of the second suspected case comes hours after the an expert group established by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to monitor the possible spread of a deadly pneumonia virus met this morning.
Meanwhile doctors in Hong Kong and Singapore believe they have scored a major breakthrough in identifying the virus that has killed at least 11 people and left hundreds ill around the world.
Medical experts said this morning the discovery in Hong Kong would make the disease easier to diagnose and opened the way for a vaccine to be developed. But they stressed more lab work had to be done to pin down the exact make-up of the virus and scientists had not ruled out that it might be a new strain.
The findings have been verified by separate research in Singapore and Germany, with the former's Ministry of Health today saying preliminary investigations by experts at the Singapore General Hospital and the Defence Medical Research Institute showed that the "likely infective agent" belongs to the paramyxovirus family.
Most cases have been in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, but suspected cases have also been reported in Australia, Britain, Brunei, Canada, Spain and the United States. But the identification of the virus is holding out some hope.
The illness begins with a high fever and a dry cough that can lead to breathing difficulties. In five days the worst affected need respirators to keep alive.
The Irish expert group includes Dr Darina O'Flanagan, director of the NDSC; Mr Seamus Dooley, of the Virus Reference Laboratory; and representatives of the Department of Health, health boards and the Irish College of General Practitioners.
The NDSC has issued guidelines to hospitals and professionals in the health services describing SARS and offering advice as to how suspected cases should be dealt with.
