The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned today that everyone infected with SARS and all persons they have come into contact with must be found in order to contain the global epidemic.
"We cannot afford to miss a single person," WHO regional director Shigeru Omi told a meeting of East Asian health ministers and international experts on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis.
The meeting in Malaysia's capital is a prelude to an emergency regional summit next week in Bangkok aimed at forging a united front against the disease which has left close to 280 dead out of more than 4,800 cases worldwide, mostly in East Asia.
The disease erupted in southern China in November but was recognised as a major health threat only last month.
In the six weeks since the WHO issued a global health alert on March 12th, the disease has caused widespread panic and economic disruption in East Asia and severely affected countries as far as Canada.
SARS-hit countries are now quarantining people who have come into contact with patients and carriers in a frantic attempt to catch up with the spread of the disease.
East Asian countries including China have called for strict screening measures at all airports and other exit points to prevent suspected SARS cases from leaving.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its key partners China, Japan and South Korea affirmed the need to bar SARS suspects from going to other countries. They said they were "convinced of the effectiveness of screening of passengers before they leave affected areas in preventing the spread of SARS".
China acknowledged at the meeting that the SARS outbreak had become a global disaster and vowed solidarity with other countries against the epidemic.
Agencies