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April 16, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Experts Say Study of SARS in China Will Help Determine Whether It Is Permanent"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (04/15/03); Lederer, Edith M.

World Health Organization executive director of communicable diseases David Heymann believes that research focusing on the beginning of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China will enable researchers to discover whether the illness is permanent.  China was recently criticized for not releasing information about SARS in November, when it allegedly started in the country's Guangdong province.  Heymann says researchers will focus on records from Guangdong in order to determine how the disease began and whether there are infected people who spread the illness without showing symptoms.  Heymann said the private sector will likely wait to see if SARS is permanent before extensively working to develop a vaccine or treatment, because a market must exist in order for companies to recover their investment.

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