The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned today Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) could yet become an endemic disease if further outbreaks are not contained.
To prevent such a human tragedy from occurring, all affected governments must enforce meticulous screening to detect every new case, Dr David Heymann, the WHO's chief of communicable diseases, told an emergency summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Bangkok, the Thai capital.
But even as the 11 leaders began their summit, 21 new SARSdeaths were reported in mainland China and Hong Kong. China also reported 202 new cases, bringing the total to over 3,300, and another 321 suspected cases.
The summit was held to devise ways to deal with SARS, which has taken a heavy toll on the economies of the 10 countries forming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Dr Heymann, who yesterday said that the worst is over for Hong Kong, Singapore, Toronto and Vietnam, said today there is no reason to celebrate yet.
"Certainly the risk and the threat of this disease becoming an endemic disease - a usual disease in humans - is still very great," he said.
Dr Heymann said public health workers have understood there need to be surveillance systems that detect where the disease is occurring. However, "the general public has not shown they understand what needs to be done," he added.
"We also stressed the fact that much of the impact economically is due to a misperception about transmission of this disease by the general public," he said.
"The general public does not understand completely how this disease is spread," he said, adding that wearing masks on the streets is futile because SARS is transmitted from close contact with a person.
AP