The Kerala government has ordered medical check-ups for all overseas travellers at the state's three airports -- Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode -- after a passenger from Doha landed in Kochi on Thursday with symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

The patient -- identified as Shaji, 28 -- was admitted to the isolation ward of the District General Hospital in Kochi. He had very high fever and was having difficulty in breathing.

Hospital sources said Shaji has been put on antibiotics and his blood and serum samples sent for medical tests.

Hospital Superintendent Dr M K Sushma said it was difficult to say at this stage if Shaji was suffering from SARS. "We have put him in an isolation ward because of the general scare of the SARS disease."

Dr Sushma said that the doctors and other para-medical staff in the hospital have been asked to wear protective masks and gloves in the isolation ward.

She said a team of medical experts from the hospital had been stationed at the Cochin International Airport to screen overseas passengers for SARS.

The Cochin Port Hospital, managed by the Cochin Port Trust, has set up an emergency medical team to check tourists arriving on cruise liners.

A port trust official said so far they had not come across any case of SARS.

"However, we are continuing to undertake strict check-ups because many cruise liners that were to dock in Hong Kong and Singapore are now arriving here," the official pointed out.

According to a circular issued by the director, health services, all district hospitals have been asked to set aside separate wards to treat suspected SARS patients.