Health authorities were yesterday urged to take immediate pre-emptive measures to avert a potential outbreak of SARS-like coronavirus in Bahrain, a report said.

Parliament's foreign affairs, defence and national security committee member Sawsan Taqawi called on the health ministry to outline contingency plans to contain potential outbreak in Bahrain, according to the report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"We have not noticed any serious pre-emptive measures undertaken by the ministry to confront the dangerous viral disease," she said, stressing the need to raise awareness to contain any outbreak.

Taqaqi said parliament is ready to back any increase in the budget for the Health Ministry.

The ministry had already issued a statement denying any infection in Bahrain.

Taqawi urged the ministry to address the public's queries regarding the diagnosis and the availability of required medication.

Three suspected cases of the virus have been discovered in northern France, health authorities said there after confirming the country's first case of the deadly respiratory infection this week.

Along with the French cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has registered 23 cases in Saudi Arabia, two in Jordan, two in Qatar, one in the UAE and two in Britain.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have invited experts to help it deal with a large outbreak of the virus in the eastern Saudi city of Al Hofuf, and a Canadian infectious diseases specialist is among them.

Toronto SARS expert Dr Allison McGeer arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, travelling at the request of the kingdom's government, a source revealed.

The outbreak, which involves at least 13 cases, has ratcheted up worry about the coronavirus, the WHO acknowledged in an update on the virus, which is from the same family as the virus. – TradeArabia News Service