Materia Medica Malaysiana

Health officials ponder what's next after SARS

KUALA LUMPUR — Health officials from around the world gathered for a two-day meeting on SARS on Tuesday, certain that the worst of the disease was over but already girding for the next viral epidemic.

New infections and deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome have almost dwindled to zero, but officials said there would be no let-up in fighting the disease which has killed almost 800 people worldwide and infected about 8,500 since it emerged late last year.
"We must continue to fight against this disease nationally, regionally, and globally, until the end," said Shigeru Omi, director for the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region. "The SARS epidemic is now coming under control but the fight is by no means over. SARS is not defeated, other new diseases will threaten us in the future; we must be better prepared next time."

Around 1,000 delegates were gathering in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for the meeting. WHO plans to examine public health system responses to SARS, where the virus came from, and whether it can be wiped out. Omi said WHO had established that SARS originated in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong but added that questions remained over whether animals were responsible for spreading the virus.

"There are many studies that indicate to that effect. Final confirmation still has to be made," he told a news conference. One of the main issues at Tuesday's meeting, due to feature a speech by Chinese Vice Minister for Health Gao Qiang, will be China's sluggish response to SARS and the initial reluctance of its health officials and other government officers to publicise the outbreak. Their actions have been widely blamed for having delayed global action on the new disease and helping its spread.

Conference delegate Finn Zedler, whose Hamburg-based company Artus developed a test kit to aid early detection of SARS, said the priority should be to learn lessons for the next viral outbreak. He said the previously unknown SARS had been particularly frightening because of the speed of its spread via travellers.

"This is also a sign that there might be more diseases like this coming up for which we will need very early measures in place and open public health systems," Zedler said. "There will be a next time; that's indisputable. The question is when."

China has been worst hit by the SARS outbreak. Deaths have also been reported in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and South Africa.



REUTERS NEWS SERVICE