SARS-related virus under control in Italy

A new respiratory virus related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) found in patients in Italy was "under control," Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said on Wednesday. Lorenzin said 60 people who had been in contact with patients whose infection has been confirmed were being observed. "All reported negative tests and enjoy good health," she said. "For this reason, I feel like assuring parliament and citizens that the situation is under control," the health minister added. Three people were being treated in Tuscany region, in central Italy, for the SARS-related virus, including a middle-aged man who recently returned from Jordan, his little niece and a colleague, according to local media. The three cases were reportedly mild. Some 51 new cases of the flu-like disease have been confirmed since September last year, several across Europe, according to the U.N. health agency.