A study published Saturday by the national SARS prevention and treatment team shows that young people and medical workers are more susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
People between the ages of 20 and 49 are the most likely to be infected by the SARS virus, especially those between 20 and 29, according to Xu Dezhong, a senior analyst with the national SARS prevention and treatment team, who conducted a study of SARS patients during the period from April 26 to May 8.
"The study shows that the probability of infection among able-bodied young people is higher than in other age groups," said Xu.
People below the age of 19, according to Xu, are the least likely to be infected by SARS. The findings show that the measures taken by the Chinese government and by parents to reduce the risk of infection among children have paid off.
In terms of profession, medical workers are the most susceptible, with an infection rate 38 times higher than that of other professions -- followed by retired people. This illustrates the fact that medical workers have made great sacrifices in the fight against SARS, said Xu.
Of China's total SARS cases, peasants accounted for 5.9 percent. However, in north China's Hebei and Shanxi provinces and in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the percentage jumped to 26, 18 and 9.1, respectively.
"Therefore, it is imperative for the local governments in these places to guard against the spread of SARS in rural areas," Xu said.
In terms of the infection rate of medical workers, north China's municipality of Tianjin is the hardest hit. Nearly one of every two SARS patients is a medical staff member, in sharp contrast to one of 50 in Guangdong Province, south China.
"Tianjin should do more to protect medical workers from infection," said Xu. "Guangdong's success tells us that, as long as effective measures are in place, medical workers can avoid infection."
Xu also said that since the infection rates among migrant workers in Guangdong, Beijing and Shanxi were relatively high, it is important for the local governments to prevent outbreaks among migrant workers and take measures to prevent the floating population from spreading the virus to other parts of China.
(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2003)
