WHO chief warns SARS could come back
Global experts said that increased awareness of the dangers of new diseases should be directed toward advancing tests on drugs to more quickly curb the next outbreak of SARS or a future unknown killer.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, director general of the World Health Organization, and some 1,000 medical researchers, government officials and health experts are already thinking of the next big epidemic as they meet in Kuala Lumpur to share lessons from the SARS crisis.
Brundtland told Associated Press Television News in an interview that 'we are many steps ahead of where we were in March' when the first world alert of the new, pneumonia-like disease was sounded.
'In China, as in other places, the disease is on the turn, going down,' Brundtland said.
'In the best case, we can see SARS disappear,' she said. 'However, we do not know if it can reappear from the animal community and reappear in humanity again.'
Severe acute respiratory syndrome is believed to have originated in civet cats and other game animals sold at food markets in southern China, where the first case of what was later identified as SARS was reported last November.
The disease has killed about 800 people and sickened more than 8,400 worldwide. China has been worst hit, with more than 5,300 probable cases and at least 346 deaths.
New cases spiked in March and April, but have plunged in recent weeks.
Experts: SARS eradication not possible
At a panel discussion at the conference, experts agreed there was a lack of research into SARS, but indications so far are that eliminating the virus wouldn't be possible.
Dr. Hume Field, an Australian veterinary expert, said that if initial research are confirmed and animals are found to be the source of SARS in humans, 'eradication is highly improbable' because the virus will have a permanent reservoir.
He said research indicated the coronovirus believed to cause SARS had existed in animals for hundreds of years, and recent behavioral changes was the likely trigger for the jump to humans.
'This seems to be an ancient virus,' he said. 'So I don't think eradication or ... control of the host animal is the issue. The issue is to avoid exposure.'
More positively, Dr. Nigel Gay, a WHO consultant on SARS infection patterns, said it appeared possible that the current strain of the virus could be eliminated, but warned that an outside source could start a new outbreak.
'Can we eradicate SARS? The sentiment is that it is too early to say, and we need to prepare for the next time around,' said Dr. Margaret Chan, director of health in Hong Kong who chaired the panel.
'How much time do we have? We don't have much, so we need to act fast.'
Brundtland told the conference Tuesday that SARS had 'been stopped dead in its tracks' despite the absence of a vaccine or effective anti-viral drugs, thanks largely to centuries-old containment techniques like quarantine.
Separating victims and tracking down their contacts relies entirely on governments quickly sharing information about outbreaks and to 'not try to conceal anything, because it backfires,' she said.
Health officials said that containment now should not lead to complacency.
'SARS is under control at this point, but everyone's question is whether it will return?' said Dr. Ray Arthur, associate director for global health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'The challenge is -- are the surveillance and response mechanisms robust enough if this happens?'
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