A NEW suspected case of Sars emerged in Scotland yesterday as one of the world's leading scientific journals rushed to publish the genetic structure of the virus to help experts treat the deadly illness.

As the desperate search for a vaccine continued, it emerged that tests were being carried out on a man in North

Ayrshire.

After returning from a ''high risk area'' the man, who has not been named, had shown flu-like symptoms, health officials said.

In line with current government guidelines masks and protective clothing have been now been made available at hospitals, health centres and doctors' surgeries in North

Ayrshire.

Dr Maida Smellie, a consultant in public health medicine with Ayrshire and Arran NHS, said the patient was identified as a suspect case of Sars on Tuesday but that there was no cause for public concern.

She said: ''All such individuals are investigated to establish the cause of their illness and to identify close contacts. The patient is recovering well and we are awaiting the results of our investigations into the

possible cause.''

She added that the patient's condition did not warrant being admitted to hospital and therefore, in line with current guidelines, the patient was staying indoors at home.

Health officials, GPs and nursing staff across North Ayrshire have been notified of the case and an urgent meeting has been called to discuss the implications, she said.

It also emerged that two nearly identical sequences of the Sars virus genetic structure have been reviewed and authenticated by experts and are being published by Science, one of the world's leading scientific journals.

A team of Canadians first sequenced a strain of the virus using specimens taken from a patient in Toronto followed shortly afterwards with another sequencing by a US-led research team.

Don Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Science, said: ''Both research teams produced these genomic sequences quickly and efficiently, in a model of co-operation among various groups.''

Experts said the authenticated gene sequences will enable researchers to more quickly develop diagnostic tests and vaccines to combat the rapidly spreading, highly contagious respiratory disease.

Meanwhile, millions of Chinese obeyed the government yesterday and abandoned annual holidays to help curb the spread of Sars, while some residents blocked roads to keep out possible carriers of the virus.

Last year, 87.1 million people thronged trains, buses and planes during the week-long holiday, generating (pounds) 2.5bn in revenues, state media said.

Beijing has been one of the worst hit areas and is seeing 100 or more new cases every day. The capital has already closed schools and cinemas and put 11,000 people under quarantine.

The empty buses and mounting business closures reinforced what most people already know: China has yet to control the contagion.

The worldwide death toll rose to at least 394 as China reported 11 fatalities, Hong Kong announced five and Canada two, both in Toronto.

Doctors in Hong Kong said they had discovered for the first time traces of the Sars virus in the stool and urine of patients thought to be free of the virus and discharged from hospital. The worrying news came after doctors in Hong Kong found evidence of permanent lung scarring and possible cases of relapses in patients who had been infected.

''Recovered patients have the virus in their stools and urine,'' David Hui, a doctor treating Sars patients, said.

Hong Kong's director of health said experts were now trying to ascertain how long recovered patients in the territory may be passing the virus in their stools and urine.

Tests were being done to see if the people found with the traces of the virus were infectious, doctors said.

The Toronto area reported two new cases of Sars, one probable case and another suspect one, and a senior medical official said the news was a setback to Canada's efforts to declare itself Sars-free.

''For us this is a setback,'' Dr Donald Low, chief of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto said.

''It is unfortunate. We would like not to see this happen ... but we have to remember that we still have active disease in Sars units and the potential always exists that a transmission could occur.''

The two new victims were nurses who treated Sars victims in the Toronto area, the only place outside Asia where people have died from Sars.

Canada announced tougher measures yesterday, saying it will deploy screening machines next week and passengers leaving Toronto and Vancouver airports must fill out a health questionnaire before being allowed to depart.

The WHO said Sars patients had left Canada and carried the disease to Australia, the US and the Philippines.

Singapore, which installed fever-screening thermal image scanners last month, said the machines had detected two suspected cases of the virus.

World health officials said not only was Sars here to stay, but its fatality rate was worsening as patients who had been lingering in hospitals have now begun to die from the disease.

Doctors say quickly isolating Sars patients is key to preventing it from spreading and quick treatment may help patients survive.

Symptoms include high fever, cough and pneumonia, and there is no standard treatment. Scientists say it is mainly passed by droplets through sneezing and coughing.

While daily numbers of new infections have fallen over the past week in Hong Kong, news that 12 people had to be readmitted to hospital brought fresh concerns. It was not clear if the 12 had suffered relapses.

Gerhard Schroeder, German chancellor, could postpone a trip to Asia this month because of Sars. The government has asked scientists to look at the risks before making a decision on going ahead with a trip to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, a government spokesman said.