The National Institute of Health (NIH) said Tuesday the medical status of a man in his forties who was classified as the first probable case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in South Korea will remain unchanged for a while.

A SARS advisory committee to the health agency concluded earlier in the day that the man, identified only by the initial of his family name, "K," will be regarded as a probable case for the time being because although he recovered from pneumonia, the NIH has failed to detect pathogenic organisms in microbial examinations which would confirm he did not contract the sickness.

An NIH official said since his symptoms match those of possible SARS patients according to the criteria of the World Health Organization, the NIH will continue to check him until it finds pathogenic organisms.