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China stalling on SARS: WHO
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A top World Health Organization official has criticized China of not being helpful in its efforts to control the deadly SARS outbreak. Increased communication among the 27 countries dealing with SARS has been a key factor in controlling the disease's spread, David Heymann, director for communicable diseases at WHO, told a U.S. House subcommittee Wednesday. But China, so far, has not been very helpful, he said. Boxes filled with information about some of the first patients to contract SARS sit in China's Guandong province awaiting analysis by WHO officials. The WHO in China has repeatedly asked the country's health minister for access to the information, which contains details on many of the cases in the Chinese province where the WHO believes SARS started, Heymann said. The goal of the global response on SARS has been to put the disease "back in the box," to control its spread -- and the WHO mostly has succeeded in every country but China, Heymann added. WHO officials say they hope to have access to the information soon. The global group has called for epidemiologists in major outbreak sites, including China, to meet in Geneva next week to address outstanding issues, he said. China has been under the harsh glare of the global spotlight since news of the disease first broke out. Beijing fired two top officials amid claims authorities were hushing up the number of SARS cases, and China has now vowed to punish government workers who don't carry out the appropriate measures. The world's most populous nation has imposed aggressive measures to curb SARS, particularly in Beijing where over 25,000 are under quarantine and schools and public entertainment venues have been ordered closed. Despite these drastic moves, the WHO has warned SARS has yet to peak in China where the number of new cases have exceeded more than 100 a day for the past fortnight. On Wednesday, China reported another 159 probable cases and three deaths from the virus. Ninety-seven of those probable cases, and three of the deaths, were in the capital, Beijing. Amid fears SARS is spreading to the poorly-equipped Chinese hinterland where the disease could be devastating, the WHO has dispatched a team of experts to northern Hebei province where infections have doubled in the past week.(Battle moves to rural China) So far 113 cases have been reported in Hebei.(WHO headed for province)
China's struggle to crack down on SARS contrasts dramatically with other badly-hit areas -- including Canada, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore -- where the number of new cases has dropped to single figures. In Vietnam SARS has been contained. In Hong Kong, officials attended the funeral of the first health care worker to die from the virus. The former British colony counted eleven deaths and eight new infections on Wednesday.(More deaths in Hong Kong) In other developments: • The WHO has criticized a decision by the University of California at Berkeley to not accept students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China for the summer season. "We don't recommend people be not accepted if they're not sick with the disease," Heymann said. • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downgraded its travel advisory against nonessential travel to Singapore to a travel alert. It downgraded its travel advisory for Vietnam on Monday. • As of May 7, SARS has infected 6,903, killing 495 of them, according to the WHO. -- CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime Florcruz and Correspondent Lisa Rose Weaver contributed to this report
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