SARS hits Pune after bride tests positive

Officials said her brother, who works in Jakarta and flew in to attend the wedding, and mother had also tested positive. The tests were conducted by the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

It’s suspected that 29-year-old Stanley D’Silva, brother of the bride Julie, was the carrier and passed on the infection. He was the first to be admitted to the Siddharth hospital.

The D’Silvas, who had come from Ambarnath for the wedding, were staying with a relative in a middle class housing society in Bibwewadi in Pune.

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, Director General of Health Services who was on his way from Mumbai to Pune, said health officials had asked the family to postpone the wedding but that hadn’t happened.

Eleven people, staying in the apartment with the D’Silvas, have been quarantined, said Salunkhe. Health officials in Ambarnath have been asked to quarantine all people with whom Stanley had come in contact.

Dressed in bridal finery, Julie was about to enter the Oldham Methodist Church when the groom Shailesh Suryawanshi, tehsildar of Guhagar in Ratnagiri district, was called by health officials and told to postpone the wedding. He was briefed on the preliminary report from the NIV which confirmed Julie as afflicted with SARS.

But the couple decided to go ahead with the wedding. Shortly after 6 pm, with just 10 to 15 close family members, the wedding was solemnised at the church. ‘‘A team of health officials was present at the wedding. Many people had to return without attending the wedding,’’ said a friend.

And at the reception later, the 150-200 guests found it strange that the bride was missing. ‘‘She suddenly took ill and is in hospital now. But she should be here in the next 30 minutes,’’ said a guest. Another said, ‘‘Wait until 10 pm, she’s definitely going to show up.’’ Finally, when it was announced that dinner had been served, the hall emptied.