A senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that China had done "excellent work" in preventing and treating SARS in Beijing.

Dr. David Heymann, WHO executive director for communicable diseases, praised China's efforts in talks with officials of the Chinese Ministry of Health.

Dr. Heymann, who arrived Wednesday morning for a two-day inspection of China's severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) situation, said the commitment made by governments at all levels in China and the mobilization of the Chinese people led to the decline of SARS cases on the Chinese mainland.

He is expected to deliver his report to WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland Friday morning. "It will be a favorable report," he told Gao Qiang, China's executive vice minister of health.

The ministry's statistics show the mainland reported only one new SARS case and no new deaths from the virus during the last 24-hour period. The total number of hospitalized SARS patients was 589 as of Wednesday.

Of the 24 provincial regions which reported SARS cases on the mainland, 12 had reported no new cases for over one month, five for over 20 days, and some of the other seven affected provinces reported no new cases for two weeks, Gao said while briefing Heymann on China's SARS situation.

"Now it can be said that China has effectively controlled the SARS outbreak," Gao said, adding that social life and the economy in China was turning to normal gradually.

But he said governments at all levels, health-care agencies and the public would remain vigilant and continue their effective anti-SARS measures.

Gao said the Chinese government had realized the importance of strengthening the public health-care system.

"China is now investing more in the health-care and sanitation sectors, enhancing the training of health-care workers, and establishing a nationwide disease control network and medical treatment system, while strengthening medical and sanitation systems in rural areas," Gao said.

During technical discussions with Chinese health officials Wednesday afternoon, Heymann listened to reports from Jilin, Shanxi, Hebei, Tianjin and Inner Mongolia, on epidemic analysis, epidemiological studies, and disease control networks. He said the provinces compiled the information "well and clearly."

Heymann said he and his team came to China with the aim to "better understand" how China controlled the SARS outbreak in such a short time.

China had been able to discover SARS patients and conduct rapid contact tracing, which helped the country reduce the number of SARS cases quickly, he said.

Praising China's "transparency and openness" in dealing with SARS, Heymann said the WHO would provide any support that China needed to develop national and regional public health surveillance systems, and data processing capability.

"China is the key to the world's fight against SARS," he said.

Gao told Heymann that China hoped to expand cooperation with the WHO in the entire field of public health, rather than anti-SARS measures.

The WHO official again stressed the importance of global collaboration in the fight against SARS, saying Chinese experts' participation in three global networks of laboratory research, epidemiological study and clinical treatment would promote the international sharing of high-quality information.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2003)