China's war on SARS
From Jaime FlorCruz
CNN Beijing Bureau Chief
 |
An attendant hands out SARS leaflets at Beijing train station.
Story Tools
RELATED
|
• Frequently Asked Questions: SARS
|
| SARS FACTS |
Suspect case: A person who develops high fever (greater than 38 C / 100.4 F) and respiratory symptoms such as cough, breathing difficulty or shortness of breath, within 10 days of
1) having had close contact with a person who is a suspect or probable case of SARS.
or
2) having traveled to or resided in an affected area.
Probable case: A suspect case with chest X-ray findings of pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome. |
|
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Behind tightly sealed windows in a Beijing hospital ward, SARS patients undergo intensive care.
China's officially reported tally of SARS cases account for about half the world's total. But just how big SARS is in China remains a nagging question.
As of Friday officials said there were only 37 SARS cases and four deaths in Beijing -- but a team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts say the figures did not include those from military hospitals.
"The team found that there are more cases in Beijing than reported," WHO representative, Dr Henk Bekedam told CNN.
A week ago health officials claimed SARS was under effective control, confined mostly to the southern province of Guangdong.
But SARS has spread across the country and top Chinese leaders are alarmed.
They have called for an end to cover-ups and warned officials face severe punishment if they try to cover up information related to infections and the spread of SARS.
In Beijing's suburban train stations, passengers are handed out leaflets on SARS, part of a public information campaign which has prompted residents to take preventive measures like wearing masks.
Doctors work information hotlines, taking questions from anxious callers. Pharmacies do brisk business selling traditional medicine. But trying to stop the disease calls for sacrifices.
"Just like after 9/11, the American people immediately gathered around the American president so now the whole nation is fighting against terrorism. And now the Chinese people need to unite against this terrible disease," says Tsinghua University Professsor Li Xiguang.
In the coming days though, a new challenge for public health officials as hundreds of thousands of Chinese travel across the country during the week-long May Day holidays.
For officials anxious to contain the spread of SARS in China, such a massive movement of people could turn the week of rest and recreation into a public health nightmare.
