SARS test results on Chinese businessman negative

Tests concerning a 36-year-old Chinese marble trader suspected of having Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) -also known as atypical pneumonia- have proved negative. The results were sent on Wednesday to the office of Health and Welfare Minister Costas Stefanis from a Hamburg institute. The trader, identified as Lin, is currently being treated in Thessaloniki's Papanikolaou Hospital. The Chinese businessman, who arrived in Kavala, northern Greece on June 21, was initially proved positive of having SARS. The tests were conducted at the laboratory of Thessaloniki University and because the tests showed positive results, samples were also sent to the special laboratory in Hamburg for confirmation. However, to finally rule out SARS on the basis of laboratory results, proof of negative serology is required after completion of the third week of symptoms.