Manila -- The Philippines has stepped up checks on travellers from China, where more than 50 people have been diagnosed with a mysterious form of viral pneumonia, the country's health department said Monday.

Passengers from China are required to undergo physical examination and may be put in quarantine if they have a fever, cold or cough upon arrival in the country, said Eric Domingo, the Undersecretary of Health in the Philippines.

Thermal scanners will help health officers in airports determine if passengers have a fever, he said.

"We are doubly cautious and on alert together with other Asian countries so we can isolate and prevent [the spread of the virus in the country]," he said.

Domingo noted that health authorities were still in the process of determining what the illness is.

"It’s very unusual because the cases are clustered," he said.

The infection was first reported last week in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. As of Sunday, 59 people had been diagnosed. Seven patients were in critical condition, according to the Wuhan Health Commission.

Hong Kong also reported 16 suspected cases of the mystery pneumonia on Sunday, according to public broadcaster RTHK, although none of the patients had reported visiting Wuhan city.

The outbreak has triggered concerns of a resurgence of SARS - severe acute respiratory syndrome - which killed more than 800 people worldwide after it broke out in southern China in 2002.

But health authorities said the virus is not influenza, bird flu, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or SARS.

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