Indonesia, Apr 19: A British man suspected of being Indonesia's only SARS case has disappeared after being placed under home quarantine, a newspaper reported today. The 47-year old textile manager was told to stay home for two weeks after being discharged from the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in north Jakarta yesterday but disappeared soon after, The Jakarta Post said.
The man, who lives and works in Indonesia, had traveled to SARS-affected Hong Kong and Singapore before arriving in Jakarta with symptoms of the deadly, flu-like illness. He was quarantined on April 9, and doctors here told him to stay home.
The report did not give the man's name. Health ministry officials could not be immediately contacted for comment on today.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, has killed at least 172 people out of more than 3,000 infected worldwide.
The paper said a monitoring team visited the man at home yesterday, but he had left. Airport officials have been informed about his disappearance and were told to keep a lookout for his name appearing on passenger lists.
He faces a one-year jail sentence under a diseases law invoked this month for obstructing government efforts to curb an epidemic, the paper added.
Bureau Report