Uncatalogued data and unclear cases remain a worry Although new cases of Sars in Beijing have dropped over the past week, World Health Organisation experts yesterday expressed concern over the figures. They highlighted an overload of uncatalogued data and a growing number of cases with no obvious cause of infection. But the experts praised neighbouring Hebei province's three-tiered approach to curbing its 191 Sars cases in five cities. The number of unsourced Beijing cases, amounting to more than 50 per cent, could mean Sars is now spread by people other than those showing symptoms, said Keiji Fukuda, a WHO expert from the United States. He said medical workers could also be growing tired and making less effort to track cases. Daniel Chin, another US-based WHO expert, said Chinese doctors also might have been too liberal in defining Sars, misdiagnosing patients with other diseases to make sure they were not punished for missing cases. About 8 per cent of Beijing's 2,347 Sars cases were military personnel, Mr Fukuda said. In the civilian sector, medical workers had collected a great deal of data but neither shared it with colleagues in other parts of Beijing nor compiled it for experts. 'The information is being collected but being wasted right now,' Mr Fukuda said. Preventive efforts were also being wasted, the experts said, citing concerns about obsessive disinfection outside hospitals and the continued forced closure of businesses in Beijing. Although WHO experts said they were encouraged by the fall in the Beijing caseloads and noted a co-operative ethic among officials, they said it was too early to draw conclusions or to stop disease prevention work. 'We may see a downward trend, Mr Fukuda said. 'But it is quite possible we will see another upsurge in cases. 'Things are not moving as quickly as we would like ... nonetheless, there is progress being made.' Fighting Sars had tested the country's public health system, which the government told the WHO had languished before the outbreak, Mr Fukuda said. James Maguire, another WHO expert from the US, said he had found innovative Sars surveillance systems in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing and sees many of its residents come and go from the capital for work. The province's first Sars patient, who surfaced on April 18, had returned from Beijing. Hebei has no super-spreaders but does have clustered outbreaks, Mr Maguire said. Hebei's measures include fever clinics, checkpoints to disinfect incoming vehicles and take the body temperature of incoming people, and village monitoring that requires a 15-day quarantine for anyone returning from Beijing, Mr Maguire said. Officials and citizens of Baoding, one of five Hebei cities with Sars cases, last week discussed the fever clinics and checkpoints but did not mention a quarantine programme. They said Sars was under control in Baoding.