Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Outbreak in the People's Republic of China

The virus appears to have originated in Guangdong province in November 2002, and despite taking some action to control the epidemic, the People's Republic of China did not inform the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the outbreak until February 2003, restricting coverage of the epidemic in order to preserve face and public confidence. This lack of openness caused the PRC to take the blame for delaying the international effort against the epidemic. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=570&ncid=753&e=8&u=/nm/20030412/sc_nm/health_pneumonia_china_virus_dc The PRC has since officially apologized for early slowness in dealing with the SARS epidemic. http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/04/05/sars.vaccine/index.html

Related Topics:
People's Republic of China - World Health Organisation - Face

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In early April, there appeared to be a change in official policy when SARS began to receive a much greater prominence in the official media. However, it was also in early April that accusations emerged regarding the undercounting of cases in Beijing military hospitals. After intense pressure, PRC officials allowed international officials to investigate the situation there. This has revealed problems plaguing the aging mainland Chinese healthcare system, including increasing decentralization, red tape, and inadequate communication.

Related Topics:
Beijing - Red tape

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In late April, revelations occurred as the PRC government admitted to underreporting the number of cases due to the problems inherent in the healthcare system. Dr. Jiang Yanyong exposed the coverup that was occurring in China, at great personal risk. He reported that there were more SARS patients in his hospital alone than were being reported in all of China. A number of PRC officials were fired from their posts, including the health minister and mayor of Beijing, and systems were set up to improve reporting and control in the SARS crisis. Since then, the PRC has taken a much more active and transparent role in combatting the SARS epidemic.

Related Topics:
Jiang Yanyong - Beijing

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