Zhong Nanshan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is attending the ongoing session of the country's top advisory body, told reporters that the SARS situation is not serious now, but he is not sure at the moment whether it will worsen with the arrival of spring.

"Until now, SARS has not been prevalent. We are confident in our prevention work. But I cannot say that it won't spread. Judging from last year, the situation in Guangdong was the most severe in February and became better in mid-March. I think after two weeks we will be able to tell whether it will spread widely or not."

But he is optimistic that the disease can be better contained as more people are now very alert, and the infection channel from wild animals to humans has been drastically reduced. The virus is also probably weaker now because of variation.

Zhong Nanshan also said he will submit an urgent proposal to give SARS a precise Chinese name so that people will have a correct understanding of this disease.

So far this year, China has reported four SARS cases, and all the patients have recovered. Last year, more than 5,000 people were infected with the disease and over 300 died.

(CRI March 5, 2004)