Chinese Ministry of Public Health announced here on June 1 that it stopped issuing daily surveillance reports on the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic from June 1 since the latest outbreak had been effectively put under control.

Meanwhile, the "zero report" mechanism, which required local health authorities to deliver a daily SARS report even if no cases were found, was also suspended, the ministry's spokesman said.

The surveillance and reports on SARS will be continued in a regular way through a nationwide computer network system in which all legally-reported communicable diseases are monitored, the spokesman noted.

On April 22, Beijing reported its first SARS-related case of this spring. By May 21 when Beijing's last SARS patient was discharged from Ditan Hospital, China reported a total of nine SARS cases including seven in Beijing and two in Anhui Province.

No confirmed or suspected SARS cases were reported in other places on the Chinese mainland.

During this outbreak, Beijing's seven SARS patients all recovered from the disease, but one patient died in Anhui and the other recovered.

On May 23, all the 747 people in Beijing who had had close contact with the patients were removed from isolation, marking the end of the outbreak, the spokesman said.

The spokesman also said that the ministry keeps on guard against SARS despite the stopping of daily reports.

The ministry has asked local health authorities to continue improving surveillance on pneumonia cases which have no clear causes, strengthening law-enforcement efforts and setting up a long-term mechanism on preventing serious communicable diseases.

Source: Xinhua