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| WHO: SARS contained worldwide |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-06 10:07:38 |
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The World Health Organization on Saturday removed Taiwan from the list of SARS－affected areas and announced that the disease has been contained worldwide. Taiwan is the last place to be removed from the list.
The World Health Organization declared on Saturday that SARS was no longer spreading in the world's last hotspot, Taiwan. WHO officials say this marks a milestone in a battle with the deadly virus.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, director－general of World Health Organization, said, "As you know Taiwan is the last place to be removed from the list, so today is a milestone. We have only known about this disease since February, it spread rapidly to 30 countries on all five continents affecting 8,439 people, killing 812. But today due to an unprecedented global collaboration in health, the WHO can say that the SARS outbreaks have been contained worldwide."
But even as the World Health Organization claimed that SARS has been brought under control, the group also warned that the mysterious illness could make a comeback.
SARS was believed to have originated in southern China, where the first known case was discovered last November. The highly contagious disease eventually traveled as far as South Africa and Canada, killing more than 800 people worldwide and infecting at least 8,400.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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