UN: Time remains to stop SARS from going global

UN health officials today said Vietnam was the first country to have successfully contained SARS, and said there was still time to stop the deadly virus spreading much further.

But the crisis worsened alarmingly in China and Hong Kong, which together reported 13 new deaths and hundreds of new infections despite tight new restrictions and thousands quarantined.

There were eight new fatalities in China and five in Hong Kong, raising the worldwide SARS toll to at least 332. About 5.000 people have fallen ill, mostly in Asia.

And Indonesia today said it suspects a Taiwanese businessman has died of SARS in what would be the country’s first fatality from the flu-like virus.

Vietnam’s success stood out optimistically amid the otherwise grim news.

“Vietnam has been able to show the world that there is hope that SARS can be contained,” said World Health Organisation spokesman Pascale Brudon in Hanoi. “It is a very good day for all of us in Vietnam.”

The UN agency says that after 20 days without new infections – double the disease’s incubation period – SARS can be declared under control and travel advisories lifted.

Taiwan today began enforcing a tough 10-day quarantine for visitors from areas hit hard by the flu-like disease, prompting airlines to cancel some flights there, while Malaysia sealed off a Kuching hospital that was feared to be the site of a SARS outbreak.

“We hope the cases are not SARS-related,” Health Ministry Deputy Director General Ismail Merican said. “For now, nobody comes in and nobody gets out of the hospital.”

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has prompted a rare global alert from WHO and travel advisories against affected countries. Tourism in Asia has dropped significantly.

But WHO lifted all travel advisories today for Vietnam, which had five deaths from SARS after the virus spread in February through Hanoi’s only international hospital.

Sixty-three people contracted the virus. But the Hanoi French Hospital was cordoned off on March 11, a move credited with slowing the rate of infection and keeping SARS from spreading beyond its doors.

“The WHO would like to congratulate Vietnam on being the first country in the world to contain SARS,” Brudon said.

WHO head Gro Harlem Brundtland said there was still time to keep SARS from spreading globally, through travel warnings and checks of travellers for symptoms, such as fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.

“We still have a chance to contain it and to have it go down in the places where outbreaks are already happening and avoid it spreading to new countries,” he said.

In contrast to Vietnam, China has been widely criticised for failing to respond earlier to pleas for action to contain the disease, which surfaced in the southern province of Guangdong in November and spread internationally via travellers from Hong Kong.

The latest deaths bring China’s national toll to 139. Officials said 3,106 people have been confirmed infected, including 203 new cases today.

In Beijing, there were three new deaths. So far 59 people have died and 1,199 confirmed infected in the city where police were stopping thousands of vehicles and checking drivers and passengers for SARS symptoms.

The capital has about 7,600 people in quarantine and has kept its schools and nightlife shut down as its builds a 1,000-bed SARS isolation camp on its northern outskirts.

Hong Kong reported 14 new infections – the lowest total yet for any 24 hour period since Hong Kong began releasing daily SARS statistics in March.

Starting today in Taiwan – which has had one SARS death – foreigners arriving from countries hit hard by SARS will be quarantined for 10 days at government-designated quarters, while returning Taiwan residents will have to stay at home.

Singapore Airlines cancelled one flight to Taipei from the hard-hit Hong Kong, an airlines spokesman said. State-run China Broadcasting Corp said only one Cathay Pacific flight, CX510, arrived from Hong Kong this morning, carrying 24 passengers.

The radio quoted Cathay officials as saying its crew members would immediately fly back to Hong Kong to avoid Taiwan’s quarantine.