China Steps Up Battle Against Deadly Disease

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 16, 2003

China Steps Up Battle Against Deadly Disease

A wide range of groups stepped up the fight Tuesday against the deadly atypical pneumonia known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). By April 15, a total of 1,435 SARS cases were reported in nine regions of the Chinese mainland. Of these, 64 patients had died and 1,094 patients -- 76.4 percent of the reported patients -- had been cured and discharged from hospital.

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A wide range of groups stepped up the fight Tuesday against the deadly atypical pneumonia known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Facts have been released, and preventive measures and proper treatment have been offered to prevent the spread of the disease across the vast nation, in a bid to counter fear and over-reaction over SARS.

By April 15, a total of 1,435 SARS cases were reported in nine regions of the Chinese mainland. Of these, 64 patients had died and 1,094 patients -- 76.4 percent of the reported patients -- had been cured and discharged from hospital.

As of April 14, a cumulative total of 3,169 SARS cases, with 144 deaths, have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from 21 countries and regions.

Entry-exit health advice has been given by the Ministry of Health and the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine Tuesday to travelers to prevent SARS from spreading into or out of China.

The GAQSQ declaration noted that travelers should report to the quarantine authorities if they were ill with high fever and respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and difficulty in breathing, and have had close contact with SARS patients or been to areas where SARS had been found in the past two weeks.

Quarantine departments shall take immediate control measures in dealing with the suspect and probable cases.

If travelers are found to be suffering the symptoms after entry, they shall seek local medical help and specify their recent journeys. If travelers are found ill with the above symptoms before departure, they will be advised to suspend their journey so as to receive prompt diagnostic tests and treatment.

Once suspect and probable cases are found in a vehicle, the vehicle staff shall inform destination quarantine authorities immediately, so that the suspect patients can be sent to designated hospitals in time. Quarantine workers shall provide health advisories to other travelers and staff in the vehicle and disinfect the vehicle. In special cases, travelers with close contact with the suspect patients shall be detained in hospitals for further medical observation.

Quarantine workers shall intensify quarantine and hygiene observation in the ports, provide medical consultations, and report any suspect case in time and take essential control measures.

Meanwhile, the declaration requires entry travelers to report their specific addresses and telephone numbers during their travel in China. Once a suspect case is found, all the other travelers inthe same vehicle shall provide their identification, specific journey details in China in 14 days and contact details, the declaration says.

Chinese railway management departments have also adopted measures to inspect and strengthen sanitation on the network to prevent the possible spread of Severe Acute Aspiration Syndrome (SARS), the Ministry of Railways announced Tuesday.

The ministry had set up a monitoring team and trained staff on the prevention of SARS. Inspectors were also sent to travel the Beijing-Guangzhou railways to check the sanitation measures, sources said.

The ministry's branch in south China's Guangdong Province had established a special working team at the beginning of February and allocated funds to purchase medicines and equipment. The health-care workers there took effective measures to counter the disease including disinfecting stations, trains and the employees' apartments.

The ministry also reinforced the strategy and arranged prevention measures for the 93rd China Export Commodities Fair which opened Tuesday in Guangzhou and the upcoming week-long holiday starting May 1.

No SARS cases had been reported on Chinese trains traveling across borders to countries or regions including Russia and Hong Kong, the source said.

Meanwhile, an official with China's Ministry of Science and Technology said Tuesday that the ministry has raised 10 million yuan (1.21 million US dollars), in emergency funds for research in SARS.

The official said that, in view of the serious challenge presented by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Chinese scientists are working feverishly to identify the cause of the disease as well as to develop treatments.

In order to effectively control the epidemic, increase the national prevention capability and raise the effectiveness of clinical treatments and methods, the Science and Health Ministries have joined hands to step up research efforts.

Wang Xiaofang, a director in the Science Ministry, said the experts will focus efforts to identify the causative agent, work out fast diagnostic methods, and develop relevant treatments and drugs. They will also work on monitoring and early warning systems, he said.

The problems facing the tourism industry as a result of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were understandable, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Tuesday.

Liu said the worldwide tourism had clearly slumped because of SARS, especially international tourism. It was also understandable that some Chinese tourists canceled trips to foreign countries for their security and health.

Liu said figures released by the World Health Organization on April 10 showed that SARS had been found in 19 countries and regions worldwide.

Liu also expressed an understanding of the worries and concerns of some countries for their tourists in China.

He noted that with proper protective measures, the security of foreign tourists on China's mainland could be effectively guaranteed.

Liu said the affect on China's economy and tourism was inevitable, but the Chinese side was confident of overcoming the temporary difficulty with the common efforts of all Chinese people.

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