China's top SARS expert has warned people to be alert against a return of the deadly disease as this winter's unusually warm weather is conducive to the growth of viruses.

"Warm winter weather is more beneficial to viruses reproducing and growing and is not beneficial to the prevention of infectious diseases," Zhong Nanshan, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, was quoted as saying by the Beijing Daily Messenger.

"In the coming half month, we need to be more alert against SARS and other infectious diseases."

Temperatures this winter in Guangzhou city, where SARS first struck two winters ago, has ranged between 6 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius -- the best climate for viruses and bacteria to multiply, Zhong said.

Last winter when SARS resurfaced, the weather was also relatively warm, he said.

The researcher said it would not be surprising if a few cases of the pneumonia-like disease appeared but ruled out chances of a major outbreak, because he said the country was experienced and better prepared.

Zhong nevertheless warned the public to stay warm, ensure good ventilation in homes and work places and avoid eating wild animals, which carry the SARS virus and are believed to spread it to humans.

A survey found some people, about 5%, still consider eating wild animals as harmless, and Zhong said he was shocked by the survey findings after the outbreak of SARS two years ago. "These people should be considerate to their relatives, friends, even if they are not afraid of the infectious diease."

The Pearl River delta area in south China, where people used to love to eat wild animals, is a highly-probable place of SARS re-occurrence, and Guangdong province has announced plans to deal with such emergencies, a Southern Metropolitan News reported.

The warm weather this winter in the area might also become a contributing factor to the SARS comeback, it said.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome killed almost 800 people, mostly in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, in a worldwide outbreak that infected more than 8,000 by the end of last year.

Source: China Daily/agencies