Bangkok: Asian governments are taking stricter measures to contain the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, with Thailand invoking an emergency regulation authorising to quarantine suspected patients, as Hong Kong reported another death and 75 new infections of the disease that killed over 62 and infected over 1,600 globally.

The latest victim in Hong Kong was an elderly man, according to health authorities, who have been authorised to move patients to quarantine centres.

The only persons to die of SARS in Thailand was a World Health Organisation (WHO) doctor from Italy, who arrived in Bangkok from Vietnam, where he had contacted the disease.

The country's Public Health Ministry said it has declared SARS as a severe communicable disease. People suspected of SARS can be quarantined up to 14 days.

Health officials will be posted at international airports in the country to mainly look for patients arriving from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan.

At least 1,600 people have been infected with the disease so far across the world and most deaths occurred in Hong Kong.

Chinese authorities have asked physicians treating SARS to disinfect everything they touch and wear 12-layer surgical mask, even as WHO officials have said the virus that caused SARS may have spread from livestock in the country's South.

Scientists however, could not identity the flu-like disease, also called atypical pneumonia, whose symptoms include fever, dry mouth and shortness of breath.

Australia on April 1 reported its first case of SARS, a Briton who had been in Singapore but was reportedly recovered.

In Singapore, nurses have been posted at airports. They identified seven cases 20 hours into their duty.

Malaysia, Sweden and Germany also reported first suspected cases of SARS, while Bangladesh and Myanmar have started screening for possible outbreaks.

After quarantining 240 people in a building, Hong Kong health officials on April 1 moved them into separate quarantine camps. The residents of block E of the Amoy Gardens apartment complex were moved to the holiday camps, in the suburban New Territories and a rural part of Hong Kong island.

Of the 75 people newly hit by the outbreak in Hong Kong, 52 were from the Amoy Gardens complex.

In a 17-page instruction published in China's top disease-control agency's website, authorities recommended that doctors isolate patients suspected of having SARS, disinfect anything patients touch and wear face masks during treatment.

The World Economic Forum on April 1 postponed a Beijing meeting of business and government leaders because of concerns about SARS.

Indonesia on April 1 announced increased measures to prevent the entry of SARS into the country, including tighter checks on incoming travellers.

PTI