SARS under control; safe to work, tour and live in China

The epidemic of atypical pneumonia known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China has been put under control, health minster Zhang Wenkang said Thursday, adding that it is safe to work, tour and live in China.

At a news conference by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, Zhang said that Chinese people live, work normally; the society is stable and travel safe.

The minister said that China has been reporting daily to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the fight to contain SARS starting from April 1, adding the ministry will also brief the media on the latest situations over SARS in a more timely fashion.

After the outbreak of the SARS, China has cooperated effectively with WHO, with three WHO expert teams having been invited to China to discuss etiology, diagnosis and control measures with Chinese experts, Zhang said. WHO gives full recognition to the work done by the Chinese health authorities and experts, he added.

China is willing to integrate its own disease prevention network into the global network of WHO, said Zhang.

Since the end of February and the beginning of March when the two sides began their cooperation in Beijing on the epidemic, the Chinese capital has received three groups of WHO experts, he said.

The health minister added that their first phase of cooperation in Beijing has successfully concluded, and the second phase in Guangdong is still underway.

The minister said 46 people had died of SARS as of March 31 in the Chinese mainland, with 40 in Guangdong, 3 in Beijing, and 3 in Guangxi.

Altogether 1,190 cases of SARS had been reported, with 1,153 in Guangdong Province. The other regions that reported SARS cases include: Beijing, 12 cases; Guangxi, 11 cases; Hunan, 7; Shanxi, 4; and Sichuan, 3.

Among the 1,190, 934 had been cured and released from hospital, with 911 in Guangdong, 1 in Beijing, 8 in Guangxi, 7 in Hunan, 4 in Shanxi, and 3 in Sichuan.

Of the 210 patients still in hospital, six are in serious conditions and the rest are improving. All the 12 SARS cases in Beijing were imported from other areas.

Zhang said that the cause of SARS has not yet been identified, adding that it is imperative to find out the exact cause of the epidemic disease and global efforts should be made to define what it is and where it is distributed so as to bring it under effective control.

Chinese scientists will cooperate with their counterparts from other countries in this regard, he added.

There is no evidence for saying that SARS cases are spreading in Guangdong Province, Zhang said, adding that a WHO expert team has arrived in the province for an on-the-spot inspection.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, SARS cases reported in the province were 361 in March, down 47.5 percent than that in February.