A seven-member joint expert team of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese Health Ministry started their first-day investigation in Hefei, capital of the eastern Anhui Province.

On Thursday afternoon, some experts visited the SARS patient Song, who was currently isolated and receiving medical treatment at a hospital affiliated to the Anhui medical college.

With strict preventative measures, the experts had face-to-face talks with the 26-year-old medical graduate.

Other members of the joint team visited the laboratory that Song used to work at, trying to detect some clue that could show the source of the infection.

On Thursday morning, the provincial government delivered a reported to the expert team on its overall efforts on SARS prevention and treatment.

Jeff Gilbert, a WHO expert on influenza monitoring from Ireland, said the team was impressed by the positive attitude and confidence of the local health workers and it was clear that the local government has exerted huge efforts in preventing the spread of SARS.

Cao Wuchun, a team member from the Chinese side said the local government has done a lot of work after SARS occurred and currently the situation in the province is well under control.

The province also made concrete plans for the future work, and "we learned a lot from the measures and the ways they used to deal with SARS," Cao said.

The expert team, which arrived in Anhui Wednesday night, plans to stay in the province for two days.

They will also help assess the laboratory bio-safety standards and provide technical assistance and suggestions to the province's SARS preventative work.

According to the Health Ministry, Song's condition is getting better and has had normal body temperature for six consecutive days. Among the people in close contact with her, 39 have been freed from medical observation.

So far, the health ministry reported four diagnosed and five suspected SARS case on the Chinese mainland, including one suspected patient who died on April 19 in Anhui.

Source: Xinhua