Henan Province is doing an impressive job fighting the spread of
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), said World Health
Organization (WHO) expert James Maguire on Tuesday.
Maguire and other members of a joint task force of China's Ministry
of Health (MOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are due to
end their six-day SARS inspection in Henan province soon.
He
said the inspectors aimed to learn about Henan's epidemic situation
and the ability of the local government to combat the disease.
The great efforts made by medical staff and the local government
had deeply impressed the task force, said Maguire.
The well-established search and supervision system had closely
tracked patients, playing an important role in the prevention and
control of SARS.
He
said the province, with a large number of migrant workers in
various provinces, has taken effective measures to register and
monitor the temperature of its returned migrant workers, which is
characteristic of the province's prevention of SARS.
Maguire said during the inspection of communities and villages, the
task force found local people were well versed in SARS prevention
knowledge.
He
also expressed his belief that SARS would be curbed through the
continued joint efforts of the local people and the task force.
Maguire suggested Henan invests in its public health system.
The task force began its inspection in Henan, China's most populous
province, on May 22.
(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2003)