Posted on 04/06/2003 9:54:01 AM PDT by Lessismore
Beijing, Apr. 6. (PTI): The lethal pneumonia or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome today claimed the life of a top UN official here as the death toll in China mounted to 73, including 22 in Kong Kong, official statistics here said.
A total of 2,705 people have been affected by SARS worldwide leaving 93 dead.
The number of patients affected by SARS hit 1,247 by April five on China's mainland, of who 51 died, an official with the Ministry of Health told reporters.
The number of SARS cases increased by 57 in China during the past four days, including five deaths.
"Newly added cases mostly occurred in Guangdong province," Qi Xiaoqiu an official of the Ministry's Department of Disease Control said.
The number of confirmed infections in the Chinese capital, Beijing had also risen to 19 from 12, Qi said.
China, which has suffered more than half of all deaths and infections from SARS, has been criticised for failing to report early and openly on the outbreak, which started in November and spread to Hong Kong and around the world in March.
Two women SARS patients, aged 71 and 68, died in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China today, the Health Department said in a press release, adding that 42 additional cases of SARS were reported in the Chinese territory.
Hong Kong also has 108 patients receiving treatment in intensive care unit.
Pekka Aro, a Finnish official with the Geneva-based International Labour Organiation (ILO), today became the first foreign national to succumb to SARS.
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