Beijing: India on April 4 cautioned its citizens in mainland China and Hong Kong to take precautions against the deadly atypical pneumonia epidemic that has so far claimed 62 lives and affected over 1,900 in the country.

In a notice posted on the Website of the Indian Embassy in Beijing, it was pointed out that a new type of illness, called the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - also known as atypical pneumonia - has been reported in parts of Southern China, Hong Kong and some other countries over the past month.

It said that travellers to China and Hong Kong should decide after taking into account the travel advisories issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and relevant governments.

While no case of SARS has been reported from the Indian community in mainland China and Hong Kong, officials at the Indian missions are monitoring the situation very closely and is keeping contact with the Indian community, official sources said.

In mainland China, SARS has officially been reported in Beijing municipality, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Shanxi and Sichuan provinces.

Especially in Hong Kong, where there are over 20,000 Indians, the authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation, which during the past two days has showed some signs of improvement.

The Department of Health in Hong Kong reported 26 new cases on April 3, compared with 23 on April 2. These figures represent a significant decline from the 155 cases reported on April 1 and 60 reported on March 31.

"This trend suggests that the extraordinary control measures undertaken by the government are working," the WHO said.

PTI