Virus may have reached peak in China, say experts

CHINA yesterday said the worst appeared to be over for SARS-stricken Beijing as international experts said China faced a crucial battle in the next few months to contain the virus and stop it spreading globally.

There was worrying news from Hong Kong where a group of scientists said the virus had been mutating rapidly, making a cure or vaccine more difficult.

In Beijing, the deputy director general of the Municipal Health Bureau, Liang Wannian, told a news conference the pneumonia-like disease was peaking in the capital, the hardest-hit city in the world with 91 deaths and more than 1,600 cases.