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Control Yuan will probe into accuracy of SARS death toll

The Control Yuan said yesterday it was investigating whether the Department of Health had been seriously underreporting the total number of SARS deaths.

The watchdog body is examining a large discrepancy between SARS numbers compiled by the department and local governments, said Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平), a Control Yuan member.

According to the department, SARS has killed 81 people. But citing figures compiled by local governments, Chao said the number of cremated bodies of patients -- including suspected and confirmed SARS cases -- adds up to 363.

Chao questioned if early in the epidemic, some patients suspected of having contracted SARS died before they were tested for the virus. It's also possible they died before test results were known, he said.

Some might have died of diseases other than SARS, but "we need to know if the death toll given by the Department of Health is indeed accurate," Chao said.

Chao said that later yesterday the Control Yuan planned to question DOH Deputy Director-General Lee Lung-teng (李龍騰).

The Chinese-language media has reported that many morgue workers have died of SARS because doctors didn't properly label infected bodies.

But Lin Liang-shan, a Taipei City Government official, dismissed the reports as false, saying no morgue workers in the capital had contracted SARS.

Also yesterday, DOH Director-General Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said that China might still be exporting SARS cases.

The source of his concern was an 82-year-old Taiwanese man who developed a fever a day after returning from a long visit to Hunan Province, Chen said.
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