Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 7, Issue 14, 03 April 2003

Since an epidemic alert was released in France on 13 March (1), 216 people with symptoms of respiratory infection returning from Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, or Singapore were notified to the national Public Health Institute (Institut de veille sanitaire, InVS) (2). Of these, 201 were excluded after clinical, radiological, biological, and epidemiological evaluation of their compatibility with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

As of 2 April 2003, 2223 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and 78 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), a case fatality rate of 3.5% (http://www.who.int/csr/sarscountry/2003_04_02/en/). This is an increase of four to fivefold in the global totals in the last seven days (http://www.who.int/csr/sarscountry/2003_03_25/en/) with the greatest proportionate and absolute increases being in China (Hong Kong and Guangdong Province), and to a much lesser extent in Canada. There has been little absolute rise in other country totals. Eighteen countries have now reported cases but in most of these no transmission seems to have occurred. Local transmission has occurred in Hanoi (Vietnam), Singapore, Toronto (Canada), Taiwan, and the following parts of China: Guangdong Province; Beijing; Shanxi; and the special administrative region of Hong Kong. In the United Kingdom three probable SARS cases have been reported; all have now recovered. Indeed, the only areas where WHO feels there is evidence consistent with current transmission are Hong Kong and Guangdong (http://www.who.int/csr/sarsarchive/2003_02_02b/en/), and the WHO has issued advice to international travellers not to travel to or through either area.

To mark world TB day, 24 March 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published the seventh annual report on global tuberculosis (TB) control. This report aims to share information from national TB control programmes, and includes data on case notifications and treatment outcomes. It also provides analysis of plans, finances and constraints on DOTS (directly observed treatment-short course) expansion for the 22 high burden countries in order to assess progress toward global targets for case detection (70%) and treatment success (85%).

The new Health Protection Agency (www.hpa.org.uk) came into operation on 1 April in England and Wales. It draws together a range of existing organisations and staff working in the surveillance, control and research of communicable diseases, emergency planning, and chemical incident handling, including: