AFP: Fears Mount Over SARS Misdiagnosis in China as Taiwan Cuts Links to Mainland

Saturday, 17-May-2003

HONG KONG, May 17 (AFP) - The World Health Organisation has cautioned that a decline in new SARS infections in China could be due to misdiagnosis rather than a slowing of the outbreak, as Taiwan Saturday suspended direct links with the mainland in a bid to control the fatal disease.

The news was better in Hong Kong, with a WHO official saying he believes the outbreak which has killed 243 and sickened more than 1,710 in the territory has been brought under control.

In Singapore, the government was buoyed by the results of medical tests which showed that suspected SARS patients and staff from a mental institute all tested negative for the deadly virus, bringing the city-state one step closer to being declared free of the pneumonia-like respiratory illness.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has so far claimed more than 600 lives around the world, with the bulk of deaths and infections occurring in China.

Beijing has recently reported a decline in the number of new cases in the capital, but the WHO warned in a statement Saturday that this may be due to misdiagnosis rather than the containment of the disease.

Beijing reported 19 new probable SARS cases Saturday, the seventh consecutive day the city has reported less than 50 probable infections by the virus for which there is no cure nor vaccine.

A few weeks ago, it was reporting an average of 100 probable cases daily.

"WHO officials fear that patients with milder symptoms of SARS are being excluded as probable cases," the UN agency said.

Beijing has had 145 SARS deaths and 2,420 confirmed cases, bearing the brunt of the nationwide death toll of 282 and 5,209 infections.

The WHO stressed it did not believe the low number of new cases was another cover up by the Chinese government, merely confusion about the virus.

Doctor Daniel Chin, leading the WHO team of specialists investigating SARS in Beijing, said any misdiagnosis could be because of "confusion over the case definition, not because clinicians were trying to hide cases."

The Chinese government initially ignored the epidemic, which originated in the southern province of Guangdong, and only revealed the extent of the disease on April 20.

As the battle to contain the disease on the latest serious front, Taiwan, stepped up Saturday, authorities announced the suspension of direct transport links with China.

Ferry links between the Chinese mainland via the Kinmen islands near the southeastern province of Fujian have been closed, the Mainland Affairs Council said. Taiwan closed the links via the Matsu islands on March 31.

Taiwan made the decision as it reported its highest number of new infections in a single day -- 34 -- on Saturday. Taiwan has now had 35 deaths from 308 cases, according to the Department of Health. Another SARS death, that of a doctor, has not yet been confirmed by the authority.

[...]

And China announced there will be no ceremony on June 1 to mark the closure of the sluice gates at the 25 billion-dollar Three Gorges Dam on China's Yangtze river due to SARS.

Health-SARS-worldwrap

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bb/Qhealth-sars-worldwrap.R6W-_DyC.html