The report of China's first suspected SARS case since July in Guangzhou has increased global vigilance - and nowhere more than in Beijing, the city hit hardest by the outbreak last year.

A comprehensive anti-SARS surveillance and reporting system has been put into effect. Officials warn the public not to panic and health experts have reiterated the need to pay special attention to personal hygiene.

Chinese and global health officials have been on the alert for a resurgence of SARS because researchers believe the virus thrives in cold weather.

It first appeared in southern China a little more than a year ago and infected nearly 8,100 people worldwide, killing 774 of them. SARS vanished during the summer as authorities here and abroad adopted strict quarantine procedures to prevent its spread.

Two cases linked to accidents in research laboratories have been reported in recent months in Singapore and Taiwan.

The latest suspected SARS patient, a 32-year-old freelance TV station worker, checked into a local hospital in Guangzhou on December 20 and was found with symptoms of SARS.

Authorities confirmed it a suspected case last Friday. And the patient is receiving treatment in hospital in Guangzhou.

This is the first suspected SARS case found since June 24, when the World Health Organization removed Beijing from its SARS-related travel advisory.

The patient has had a normal temperature for the past week and is now in a stable condition in Guangdong, according to local hospital sources.

Beijing has announced steps to strengthen monitoring at hospitals and screen the temperature of travellers at airports and railway stations since the Taiwan SARS patient was confirmed on December 7.

All the hospitals in Beijing are required to strengthen monitoring and examinations for fever cases, especially those from Guangdong. All municipal entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments are required to work around the clock to improve temperature screening systems.

Any travellers with a body temperature over 38 degrees Celsius will be sent to government-designated hospitals, according to Guo Jiyong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

Officials from the World Health Organization have expressed confidence in Beijing's SARS prevention efforts.

"We are convinced that the Chinese authorities will work very hard to ensure there will not be a big outbreak," Henk Bekedam, representative of WHO's Beijing Office, told Xinhua on Monday.

Bekedam said if the suspected case in Guangdong is an isolated one and the necessary preventative measures have been taken, a large SARS outbreak is not likely.

"But the Guangdong case is a good reminder to us," he said, adding that the case shows that SARS could return at any time, and the health authorities should remain vigilant and disease surveillance and precautions measures should be enforced.

"It's now important for the public to stay informed of the latest SARS information, and understand what is happening," he said. Keeping fit and quitting smoking are good precautions, he added.

Xu Zuojun, director of the Respiratory Department of Peking Union Hospital, says personal hygiene is essential and effective in keeping SARS at bay.

The Centres for Disease Control advises: maintaining ventilation; avoiding crowded places; wearing a mask; washing hands regularly and cleaning office furniture and equipment with diluted bleach.

Xu and his colleagues were involved in last spring's anti-SARS campaign. Three of his colleagues were infected with the virus. Xu found it odd that none of their dorm mates (there were three sharing a tiny room), were infected although they had close contact with the patients.

But why are family members more easily infected after an infection within the household?

"My answer to this is that dorm mates don't share the use of certain stuffs like we probably do in our home. For example, we have separate face towels, but we may share the same towel to dry our hands in the home.

"I have not done any research on that, but I think it is possible that the SARS virus, may be just like the flu virus, and can also be transmitted through contact with more than droplets."

Doctor smells a rat

Dr Ian Lipkin, professor of Epidemiology and Neurology at Columbia University, New York, said at a health forum held in Guangzhou last week that the SARS virus is probably rooted and spread by rats.

China plans SARS vaccine trial

Chinese researchers expect to begin human trials soon on an experimental SARS vaccine that injects the dead virus into medical subjects so their immune systems can recognize it and hopefully attack it, a government drug official says.

The vaccine has been effective in animals, especially monkeys, according to the State Food and Drug Administration.

Vaccine two years away

Researchers around the world are seeking SARS vaccines, but the World Health Organization has said a vaccine is probably more than two years away.

Researchers still aren't sure how the virus originated, a situation similar to that of HIV/Aids virus. There is still not an effective vaccine for HIV.