Statistics shows that up to April 9, 2003 a cumulative total of
1,290 cases have been reported in China. Among them 1,213 were from
Guangdong, 32 from Shanxi, 22 from Beijing, 12 from Guangxi, 6 from
Hunan, 4 from Sichuan, and 1 from Shanghai. Of all these cases
1,025 or 79.4% have recovered and been discharged from hospital:
1,004 from Guangdong, 4 from Shanxi, 1 from Beijing, 8 from
Guangxi, 5 from Hunan, and 3 from Sichuan. Among all these cases,
there were cumulative total of 55 deaths: 44 from Guangdong, 2 from
Shanxi, 4 from Beijing, 3 from Guangxi, 1 from Hunan, and 1 from
Sichuan.
Since atypical pneumonia was found in some areas in China, the
World Health Organization has been highly concerned with the
epidemic and its prevention and control. Starting from March this
year, WHO has sent three teams of experts to China to provide
technical support to Chinese experts in terms of epidemiology,
etiology and clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as control
measures of atypical pneumonia. The WHO experts fully affirmed the
treatment of atypical pneumonia patients as well as control of the
epidemic in China, and gave high appraisal to the standard of
diagnosis of atypical pneumonia and relevant treatment measures,
which had been developed in China. They also recommended that WHO
revise and further improve its publicized standard of diagnosis
based on the Chinese standard of diagnosis. The WHO expert team
concluded that China has accumulated rich experiences in the
prevention and treatment of atypical pneumonia, and has worked out
a set of effective measures to contain the disease and to save the
patients; the experiences would be very valuable references for
other countries. WHO has promised to provide active technical
support and diagnostic reagent according to the suggestions made by
the experts from both sides. The Chinese Ministry of Health has
appointed relevant organizations to join in the Globe Atypical
Pneumonia Epidemiology, Laboratory and Clinic Networks, established
by WHO, to enhance information communication with other countries
and to share research results in order to make a breakthrough in
the prevention and treatment.
(China.org.cn April 10, 2003)
