Beijing — More than 200 people were placed under observation for SARS in a northern Chinese city after doctors failed earlier to diagnose the disease in patients who visited hospitals and possibly infected others, state media reported Saturday.
Meanwhile, the official Xinhua News Agency reported 31 officials in Beijing were disciplined for poor performances in carrying out the country's anti-SARS measures.
The report came a day after a World Health Organization official said hospitals in the capital city might be under-reporting SARS cases.
While numbers of new SARS cases are starting to fall in China, a health official warned more farmers were catching the disease in the northern province of Shanxi, where nearly 500 people have been infected, media reported.
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In Shanxi, farmers now account for almost 10 per cent of cases, versus a national average of six per cent, Xinhua quoted epidemiologist Cai Quancai as saying.
Cai said that proportion has been growing steadily despite a gradual decline in cases in Shanxi, the third-hardest hit area in China after Beijing and southern Guangdong province.
China is struggling to protect its vast rural hinterland from severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has killed 275 people on the mainland and infected 5,191.
Travel between provinces has been restricted and villagers everywhere have thrown up roadblocks to keep away outsiders who might be carrying SARS.
Officials say they fear a rural outbreak could be a major disaster because the countryside has too few hospitals and doctors.
However, preventing an outbreak in the countryside, where most of China's 1.3 billion live, was proving to be difficult.
A husband and wife began visiting hospitals in Lanfang city in Shanxi for treatment of fevers in late April, newspapers and Xinhua reported.
Doctors neglected to ask them about their recent contacts or for other information that might indicate they had SARS, the reports said.
The pair, identified only by their surnames, Lu and Liu, were diagnosed with SARS on May 8 after developing lung infections.
Authorities immediately began tracing people they had contact with and placing them under observation.
None have so far shown signs of infection.
The couple were apparently infected by a patient who shared a room with their daughter when she was hospitalized for a different illness, the reports said.
Authorities were adjusting hospital procedures to correct problems and "learn from the experience," the reports quoted Lanfang Health Bureau Director Gao Yu as saying.
In Beijing, 31 officials were disciplined for negligence, leaving their posts or failing to carry out prevention measures against SARS, Xinhua reported.
Hundreds of officials have been punished so far for failing to prevent the outbreak from spreading, including the Health Minister and Beijing's former mayor, who were fired.
A WHO expert said Friday Beijing hospitals were failing to record some possible SARS cases, leading to possible under-reporting of the size of the capital's outbreak.
Dr. Daniel Chin said doctors weren't counting people who showed SARS symptoms but hadn't had any contact with infected people and later recovered.
Chinese leaders have promised to report honestly on SARS and have threatened to punish officials who try to conceal cases.
In the southern city of Shenzhen, an outbreak of type A influenza was complicating anti-SARS efforts.
The influenza produces similar symptoms to SARS, including fever, congestion and aches, newspapers reported Saturday.
