Taiwan sees record rise in Sars cases and deaths

Taiwan reported record daily rises in the numbers of Sars infections and deaths yesterday as the region counted the economic cost of the epidemic.

The Department of Health said the number of probable Sars cases rose by 39 to 383 and a dozen more sufferers had died, bringing the death toll to 52.

The figures contrast with a steady decline in cases in China and Hong Kong, the areas worst hit by the flu-like virus that has killed a total of about 650 people around the world.

The World Health Organisation says Taiwan has the world's fastest-growing outbreak. In a statement on its Web site, the WHO said lapses in infection control, particularly in emergency rooms, could be a reason for the rapid spread in Taiwan.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is the suspected cause of death of a 12-year-old girl with a history of pneumonia in northern Taiwan. If that is confirmed, the girl would be the youngest victim of the respiratory disease in Taiwan.

More than 90 per cent of Taiwan's cases are the result of hospital infections, following outbreaks in at least six major hospitals in the past four weeks.

On Tuesday, the Kaohsiung Medical University became the latest hospital to quarantine medical staff.

As Taiwan battled to control the virus, economies in the region counted the cost.

A report co-authored by a member of Australia's central bank board said Sars would plunge Hong Kong into recession this year and could do the same for China if the epidemic persisted.

Economists Warwick McKibbin and Andrew Stoeckel said even if Sars was brought under control this year, it would cut Hong Kong's projected 2003 gross domestic product by 5.5 per cent.

GDP could fall 2.4 per cent in China.

Hong Kong said yesterday its unemployment rate had returned to last summer's record of 7.8 per cent as Sars crippled tourism and hammered consumer spending. Economists predicted unemployment could climb in coming months before the economy improved.

Australia said tourist arrivals showed their biggest drop in April since records began 33 years ago, hitting a five-year low as Sars and the Iraq war kept people home.

China reported five more people had died from Sars and another 17 were identified as infected in the 24 hours to 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) yesterday. Hong Kong said another two people had died and four others had been identified as infected.

Health officials in Beijing denied yesterday a rapid drop in the apparent number of cases was the result of intentional under-reporting or of a cover-up.

In Taiwan, the medical system is under immense strain. More than 140 medical workers at two major hospitals have quit for fear of contracting the deadly virus, after scores of doctors and nurses in a half-dozen hospitals fell ill.

At least six doctors and nurses have died from Sars. Lee Ming-liang, who leads the cabinet's Sars committee, told reporters the island had only a limited time to control Sars.

"The trend of epidemiology is each wave is bigger than the last. If we cannot effectively control the epidemic within five weeks, especially hospital infections, it could be hard to control," said Lee, a former health minister.

Fearful of the spread of Sars, several Taiwan hospitals set up outdoor tents to treat patients and put people in yellow raincoats before entering.

In remote Kazakhstan, five people have been placed under observation in hospital after travelling on a train with two passengers showing symptoms of the Sars virus, a Kazakh health official said yesterday.

US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson warned Sars was likely to threaten Europe and the United States later this year.

"I think you can anticipate that you will have deaths in all continents, or a lot of continents," he said in Brussels.