Health officials in Singapore are investigating a confirmed case of Sars, following a warning from the World Health Organisation that there could be another outbreak of the disease.

According to a report in The Independent newspaper, the island state’s Ministry of Health said the case was discovered during “routine tests” on an ethnic Chinese patient. Subsequent tests confirmed Singapore’s first case in five months, though doctors are claiming that it is an “isolated case”.
The World Health Organisation has stated that it is too early to predict whether the case heralds a new outbreak of the disease, which killed around 800 people around the world earlier this year.
The news is likely to rattle the travel industry, which is still reeling from the effects of the previous outbreak. If another Sars outbreak were to spread, it would be disastrous for airlines. Even for those operating predominantly outside Asia - like Air France - which says the SARS epidemic cost it an estimated 100 million euros in lost revenue.

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