A Chinese doctor who was one of the first to warn others about the spread of a “SARS-like” virus has gone missing, sparking fears she has been detained by authorities.

Dr Ai Fen spoke out and later gave interviews with the media, but has since gone silent.

“Just two weeks ago the head of Emergency at Wuhan Central Hospital went public, saying authorities had stopped her and her colleagues from warning the world,” Australia’s investigative show 60 Minutes reported on Sunday.

“She has now disappeared, her whereabouts unknown,” the show reported, also tweeting photos of Ai.

Dr Ai was earlier given a stern reprimand after sending information about the early stages of the outbreak to a group of doctors.

She wrote about her concerns in a now-deleted essay published in China’s People (Renwu) magazine.

Titled ‘The one who supplied the whistle’, it describes how Dr Ai had been silenced by her bosses after she took a photo of a patient’s test results and circled the words “SARS coronavirus ” in red.

Concern over her whereabouts is now growing as the Wuhan’s lockdown is gradually lifted and people are urged to return to work.

Di Ai’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was among eight people who shared Dr Ai’s photo.

He was reprimanded by police and accused of spreading ‘fake news’ for warning the public of ‘SARS at a Wuhan seafood market’ on social media.

The 34-year-old medic died in the early hours of Friday despite attempts to resuscitate him.

Three other doctors who worked alongside him have also died of the disease after contracting it while fighting the outbreak.

Source:MSN