Mainland health official says evidence is not conclusive
It is too early to ban civet cats from the dining table, according to a top mainland health official. Vice-Minister of Health Wang Longde said yesterday there was no scientific evidence showing that the Sars virus came from the animal, 'so it is too early to say whether it should be banned'.
Dr Wang was speaking to reporters at after the opening of the 54th session of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) regional committee for the Western Pacific. Nearly 200 delegates are attending the meeting, including 16 health ministers and representatives from 37 countries and regions.
The five-day session, opened by director-general Lee Jong-wook, the first Korean to head a major United Nations agency, will review the past five years' work and plan for the next half-decade in tackling Sars and emerging infections, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, tobacco control and child health.
Dr Wang said China was adopting measures to tackle Sars, which could re-emerge in the winter.
'These measures include requiring all medical and health institutions to report all suspected cases of Sars using the computer and internet,' he said.
In May, University of Hong Kong (HKU) scientists said they found a similar virus to the Sars coronavirus, which was causing the human disease, in civet cats at Guangdong's wet markets.