BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhuanet) -- A senior World
Health Organization (WHO) official told a press briefing
here Thursday that SARS-related information offered by China
was "informative and complete".
The useful information on
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) offered by China
during his two-day tour reflected China's efforts in
controlling the disease, Dr. David Heymann, WHO executive
director for communicable diseases, said at the joint press
briefing hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Health and WHO.
Five SARS-hit Chinese
provincial regions briefed Heymann on their SARS situation
in detail on Wednesday.
The
WHO official attributed the rapid decrease of SARS cases on
the Chinese mainland to the "massive efforts in
mobilizing the whole population". He said the shorter
time for the identification of SARS patients, and quick
tracing and surveillance activities led to the rapid
decrease of SARS cases on the Chinese mainland.
In some provinces, Heymann
said, the time for identifying a SARS patient from the onset
of symptoms had decreased from four days to one day.
Heymann said his visit to
China was not an "inspection tour" but rather a
visit for exchanging views with China on the SARS situation
and to assess where China needed more support from the WHO.
"There's much more
remains to be done," Heymann said. The WHO hoped to
"constantly obtain data from China," he said.
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