Philippines sounds all clear on SARS scare

A woman hospitalized in Philippines for suspected SARS has been declared free of pneumonia-like disease after the various tests.

A woman hospitalized in the Philippines for suspected SARS has been declared free of the pneumonia-like disease following tests carried out here, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said Wednesday.

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"We are declaring her a case of bacterial pneumonia, not a SARS case," Dayrit told a news conference.

The 42 year-old woman, who works as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, had fallen ill during a Christmas home leave. It sparked a health scare that caused the health department to quarantine more than three dozen people who had contact with the unidentified patient.