WHO appreciates China's quick response to SARS
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-04-26 14:42

A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) Monday appreciated China's quick and serious response to SARS after reappearance of SARS cases in Anhui province and Beijing since April 22.

Shigeru Omi, director of the WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office based in Manila, said the organization is satisfied with the Chinese government's quick response and information sharing with the domestic public and international society after the reappearance of SARS, the fatal disease having claimed hundreds of lives worldwide last year.

A diagnosed patient, Song, who is from Anhui and used to work for a lab in the Institute of Virology in Beijing, was discovered as a virus carrier after she took a train to return to her hometown from the capital last month.

"The Chinese government has taken serious measures to address it (SARS) this time such as identifying passengers who took the same train (with the virus carrier) and share the information with public and the WHO," Omi said.

He said that he believes China would overcome the SARS revival as soon and successful as possible since the linkage among the diagnosed patients and suspects have been found out and the surveillance and prevention system, which the Chinese government had developed to address SARS crisis last year, have been put in practice.

Omi noted that there has no need to be panic so far because comparing with the crisis last year, "the infectors are still small in amount and will not result in an instant transmission."

It is the third time that the SARS has returned since the big crisis last year. Two persons, also lab researchers were separately infected with the virus in Singapore and China's Taiwanin September and December.