Hong Kong and US scientists believe they have found chemicals that can stop the spread of the SARS virus.

This discovery has raised hopes that a cure for the pneumonia-like illness is in sight.

Joint research by Hong Kong University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center has created 104 molecules which researchers say render useless the bug that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

SARS killed almost 800 people, mostly in Hong Kong and China, in a worldwide outbreak last year that infected more than 8,000.

It's said researchers had engineered more than 50,000 molecules to test on laboratory samples of the virus.

The next step would be to test the chemicals on animals in a special lab being constructed in Hong Kong.

(CRI September 22, 2004)