Beijing, Apr 04: The booming south Chinese city of Shenzhen has also been affected by the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) with one death and 33 cases reported, the state media said today. Thirty-three SARS cases had been detected in the city of Shenzhen, in the worst-affected Guangdong province, and 20 had been cured and left hospital by Wednesday night, said the report.
Ten patients, who were still in hospital for treatment, were in 'stable' condition. So far, no local medical staff member in Shenzhen has been infected with SARS, it said. The World Health Organisation (WHO), citing China's latest figures, says the atypical pneumonia had killed 46 people and infected 1,190 in China by Wednesday.
Chinese officials also revealed yesterday the virus had spread to other regions on the mainland but Chinese health minister Zhang Wenkang stressed the outbreak was "under effective control." However, China, where the disease is believed to have originated, has come under fire for its slow response to the epidemic, which has spread world-wide.
There have been 79 deaths and more than 2,270 SARS cases in 16 countries, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to WHO figures. Bureau Report