A suspected SARS patient in southern Guangdong Province was in stable condition, with his body temperature remaining normal for nine consecutive days, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

　　None of the 81 people who had had contact with the suspected SARS patient showed abnormal symptoms, and 33 of them have been discharged from medical observation, said the ministry.

　　Meanwhile, medical investigators searched the drains and sewers in a residential block, a drugstore and a private home in Guangdong, attempting to figure out where the sickened man's suspected illness was contracted.

　　"A question mark continues to hang over the suspected SARS case in southern China, but more tests are planned in an effort to reach a definite conclusion," the World Health Organization said.

　　The latest patient, a 32-year-old TV producer, has been hospitalized since December 20. Repeated tests this week have proven inconclusive, health authorities said. On Wednesday, medical investigators from WHO and the government were mulling where to send samples abroad for further examination to confirm or refute the presence of SARS.

　　The investigation team in Guangzhou visited a residential block on Wednesday, where the patient had been living. Health experts also visited his home and a nearby drugstore where he bought medicine before he was admitted to the hospital.