A joint taskforce of the World Health Organization (WHO) and China's Ministry of Health (MOH) arrived in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Sunday afternoon, kicking off their inspection tour on SARS prevention in the region in southwestern China.
The joint taskforce was headed by Yang Qing, a deputy director-general with MOH. WHO experts were led by C. K. Lee, an Australian epidemiologist.
Guangxi, a region with a population of 47 million, reported 20 clinically diagnosed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases and three deaths by May 10. Nine SARS patients have already been discharged from hospitals upon recovery. The region has no new SARS report for nine days after May 2.
After the outbreak of SARS, WHO experts have already visited China's Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai and Hebei.
(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2003)
