A recent sudden temperature drop in most areas of China has
sparked fears of a possible return of severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS) and the country has mobilized to prepare for
another outbreak.
North China's Tianjin Port resumed a temperature reporting
system on Sunday. Any passengers through the port with a
temperature above 38 degrees Celsius would be provided medical
observation and reported to relevant authorities.
At a symposium on respiratory diseases and SARS in Beijing, an
authoritative epidemiologist warned of the resurgence of SARS, but
predicted no widespread epidemic outbreak.
It was unlikely the SARS virus would die out naturally and it
would definitely come back, said Zeng Guang with the China Disease
Control Center.
"But the scale of the epidemic depends on the control measures
we take," said Zeng.
Zhong Nanshan, a prominent anti-SARS scientist during the last
outbreak, agreed the disease would return this winter. However,
with the strict reporting mechanism and experience from the last
crisis, the epidemic would not cause serious damage again, he said.
Zhong is an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering
from south China's Guangzhou City.
Caught unprepared this spring, Chinese authorities have learned
to act quickly before the epidemic can take a hold.
Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi Thursday urged strictly implementing
the daily SARS epidemic reporting system and warned that people
delaying reporting or hiding the true situation would be severely
punished.
In Beijing, the disease control center in Dongcheng District has
resumed a 24 hour schedule for possible epidemic breakout. Every
afternoon before 3:00 o'clock, the center receives SARS reports
from every hospital in the district and then reports to the Beijing
municipal disease control center and health bureau.
In Beijing Xiehe Hospital, plans are ready for fever patients to
receive treatment in a special section. Doctors in that ward,
wearing protective clothing, will observe patients for any possible
respiratory diseases. Patients with high fever and symptoms of
respiratory diseases are required to be observed for one or two
weeks.
North China's Shanxi
Province and Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region, the two other hardest-hit areas in
the last SARS crisis, have both set up an emergency response
mechanism and mobilized all concerned departments. The system has
also been set up in rural Inner Mongolia.
People are urged to pick up again the healthy habits they formed
during the last SARS outbreak. Zhong Nanshan said the most
important way to prevent SARS was to play more sports and maintain
good ventilation. Spitting in public and eating wild animals were
very dangerous, said Zhong.
Zhong also suggested influenza vaccinations in a bid to better
diagnose SARS as people are most vulnerable to SARS-like flu in
autumn and winter.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2003)