The clinically confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases in Beijing and Guangdong respectively account for 45.8 and 30.4 percent of the total number of such cases reported on the Chinese mainland to date, according to information provided by the Ministry of Health Sunday.

In addition to Beijing, other regions, including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Tianjin in north China have also been severelyaffected by the epidemic, said Nie Jun, a member of the expert team for SARS control which works under the supervision of the health ministry.

As many as 66.5 percent of total SARS cases reported on the Chinese mainland have been discovered in the above-mentioned five regions, Nie added.

In 13 provincial areas including Liaoning, Anhui and Zhejiang, all SARS patients were infected in areas outside the areas where they reside, Nie said.

He said that none of the patients have spread the disease to the areas where they reside, which is an indication of the effectiveness of the preventive work being carried out by local health departments.

While over 60 percent of the SARS cases reported in Guangdong province in the past five days have been from Guangzhou, the provincial capital, there have been no reports of new SARS cases for over ten days in Foshan, Zhongshan and other areas where the disease was first discovered, Nie said.

He stressed that Guangzhou should make further efforts to prevent SARS from spreading to neighboring areas.

Editor: Wings