SARS may come again, but in different genre: WHO
( 2003-07-31 16:22) (Agencies)
Although severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) infection from human to human has been interrupted
globally, the virus is by no means eradicated. It may come again in winter, but
present in a different genre, warned the visiting World Health Organization
(WHO) official, Shigeru Omi, in Macao Wednesday.
"This particular disease may not come, but new diseases present similar
symptoms on human beings like SARS may turn up," said the WHO Western Pacific
Regional director, who arrived in Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)
Monday on a three-day inspection visit at the invitation of the SAR government
on the review work of SARS control.
Omi called on the whole international community to stay vigilant against
SARS. "But there is no need to be panic. If a new SARS disease came, the
experiences gained would ensure a response better than what we did before," he
said.
Omi is the fourth WHO expert to visit Macao this year, which isa member of
the WHO's West-Pacific Region. He highly praised the SAR's effective containment
of the disease, which broke out in Macao's neighboring regions of Guangdong and
Hong Kong in April.
Omi concluded four factors which ensured Macao remained a "safety island" in
the epidemic outbreak with just one imported SARS case found in the
SAR.
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