Tracking SARS toward its source, scientists are inspecting exotic animal farms in southern China's Guangdong region as part of a project "mapping the province's biological environment," the government said yesterday.
The 14-member team of foreign and Chinese experts is particularly interested in learning more about the animals and their contacts with humans, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting team member Guan Yi, a microbiologist from the University of Hong Kong.
"The purpose of the trip is to uncover which of the animals carry SARS," said a Health Ministry official who identified himself only as Mr. Xing. In a telephone interview, he said the team had not reported any results as of yesterday afternoon.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The World Health Organization (WHO) declined comment until the trip was complete, said Zhang Pingping of WHO's Beijing office.
The team visited one of Guangdong's largest civet cat farms over the weekend and inspected its breeding and quarantine facilities, Xinhua said.
SARS killed more than 800 people worldwide, including 349 in China, before it subsided in June. The disease first appeared in Guangdong last November, and was later found in the civet cat, a weasel-like mammal.
Biologists and virologists suggest the virus may have jumped from animals to humans in southeastern China, where consuming exotic creatures is a tradition.
Last week, China's Forestry Administration lifted bans it instituted earlier this year on the sales of 54 kinds of wildlife, including the civet cat. Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in Beijing, said he was concerned about lifting the prohibition because so much about SARS remains unknown.
"There have been some very clear indications that the civet cat is linked," Bekedam said Saturday. "We think it's a little early to lift the restrictions."
On Sunday, the team went to a pig farm and another exotic-animal operation, investigating quarantine measures. They also met with scholars from the South China University of Agriculture.
The team expects to submit a report to WHO by month's end, Xinhua said. The inspection, it said, is "aimed at clearly mapping the province's biological environment."
On Saturday, with great fanfare, China released what it called its final two SARS patients from a Beijing hospital and proclaimed victory -- for now -- over the virus. But officials warned people to remain vigilant, especially when winter comes. Many fear the virus will resurface when cold weather returns.
Also yesterday, visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard praised the Chinese government for its efforts against SARS. Beijing came under initial criticism in March and April for what critics called its sluggish and reluctant response.
"We were all deeply impressed at the effective way in which you dealt with a very deep public challenge," Howard told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Responded Wen: "I also wish to thank you for your sympathy, understanding and support in our struggle against SARS."
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