Wednesday August 20, 2003

One third of all Chinese fear SARS will return later this year, amid warnings that the country's health system may not be able to cope with a new onslaught from the dreaded virus, state media said.

Less than a week after China's last two SARS patients were discharged from hospital, the China Daily reported that 30 percent of the nation's people fear the epidemic will bounce back, helped by a general drop in vigilance.

That is according to a survey of 3,207 respondents in several large cities, conducted by the Horizon Research Group.

Many Chinese, including experts, have expressed worries that the SARS virus may thrive in relatively cool conditions, meaning it could reappear as winter approaches.

Most of the respondents who told Horizon Research Group they were fearful of the disease said they could not relax as long as there was no vaccine against SARS available.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) emerged in south China's Guangdong province late last year, and quickly spread to become a global menace.

It struck down more than 8,000 people and left more than 800 dead in 32 countries, with some 349 of the fatalities and 5,327 of the infections recorded in China.

Meanwhile, a China Daily editorial warned Wednesday that there is "no 100 percent guarantee that all that is necessary has been done so that the country can handle another public health crisis like SARS."

"Whether we like it or not, it is an irrefutable truth that we human beings still know little about the virus," the paper said.

The paper complained that "good health habits like not spitting in public places," which a majority adhered to at the height of the SARS scare, have failed to take root.

"Such slackening vigilance adds to the worry that some may again be caught totally unprepared and unprotected should a new virus arrive to test our mettle," the paper said.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030820/1/3diwb.html