Progress of The SARS Outbreak - November 2002

November 2002

On November 16, 2002, an outbreak of what is believed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), began in the Guangdong province of China, which borders on Hong Kong. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County. The People's Republic of China (PRC) notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about this outbreak on February 10, reporting 305 cases (including 105 health-care workers) and 5 deaths; it was later reported that the outbreak in Guangdong had peaked in mid-February, but that appears to be false, as later 806 infections and 34 deaths were reported

Early in the epidemic, the PRC discouraged its press from reporting on SARS and lagged in reporting the situation to the World Health Organization, delaying the initial report. Initially, it did not provide information for Chinese provinces other than Guangdong, the province where the disease is believed to have originated. For example, a WHO team that travelled to Beijing was not allowed to visit the Guangdong province for several weeks. This resulted in international criticism which seemed to have caused a change in government policy in early April. The PRC Health Minister has apologized for early delays in reporting and has been holding regular press conferences. The PRC government appears to have issued directives that the press should not refrain from stating bad news and that government officials should accept media supervision.