SARS ‘over its peak’ despite fresh Toronto outbreak

THE SARS outbreak is “over its peak” around the world, including in the hardest-hit country, China, a World Health Organisation official said yesterday.

A renewed outbreak in Toronto shows, however, that the world must still remain vigilant against the illness, said Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in China.

“It’s fair to say that the SARS epidemic is over its peak. We can see it globally and we can also see it in China,” Bekedam told a news conference. “I think that’s very good news.”

He said the outbreak in Canada’s largest city showed that another epidemic could be sparked with “just one missed diagnosis.

"I think the challenge now is to eliminate SARS as a public health threat,” he saidHis comments came as China, for a second consecutive day, reported no new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome on its mainland.

The Chinese health ministry reported two new fatalities, raising the mainland death toll to 336. More than 5,000 people have been infected on China’s mainland.

In Hong Kong, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa welcomed the lifting of a travel advisory by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as proof the territory is recovering from the virus.

The WHO lifted its own advisory for Hong Kong, imposed in April, nearly two weeks ago. Hong Kong reported no new cases or deaths yesterday. The territory has suffered 284 deaths, with 1,748 people sickened.

“The announcement is a further indication that the SARS disease is contained, travel to Hong Kong is safe and life is returning to normal,” Tung said.

With Taiwan reporting just one new case, the three areas of the world worst-hit by SARS appeared on the road to recovery.

The island has suffered 81 deaths, but none in the last eight days. It has nearly 700 people infected.

Between them, they have suffered about 90% of the more than 8,300 infections and 775 fatalities reported in more than two dozen countries since SARS first emerged in southern China in November.

Taiwan’s latest figures spurred hopes that the WHO might lift a warning against nonessential travel to the island.

Yet Taiwan still has some way to go, since more than 200 SARS patients are still in hospital. The WHO can only lift its travel warning when the number falls below 60.

The WHO discussed the possibility of warning against travel to Toronto this week, but decided against it because the new cases in the Canadian city appeared under control with no spread in the general population, said WHO spokesman Dick Thompson in Geneva.

The three infections bring the total to 67. Some 987 people were in home quarantine, down from more than 5,000 the day before, while more than 200 others were being monitored for SARS-like symptoms.