April 8, 2003	Tuesday	Safar 5, 1424

HONG KONG, April 7: The death toll from a worldwide outbreak of a mysterious respiratory virus neared 100 on Monday as China reported two more deaths from the disease and another person died in Singapore.

The number of confirmed deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) now stands at 98: 53 in China, 22 in Hong Kong, nine in Canada, seven in Singapore, four in Vietnam, two in Thailand and one in Malaysia.

More than 2,700 suspected cases of SARS have been detected around the world with China (1,268 cases) and Hong Kong (842) the hardest hit.

As SARS claimed three more lives, Vietnam reported five more cases of the disease on Monday, dealing a setback to its efforts to contain the outbreak of the pneumonia-like respiratory virus.

China came under renewed fire for failing to promptly report the initial cases of the illness to the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO), and top US health officials were to appear before the US Congress on Monday to brief lawmakers on the spread of the disease in North America.

“The hearing will focus on the potential wide ranging impact of the disease. We will also look at the progress health experts have made in determining how the disease is spread and how to prepare health care systems in the United States,” said Judd Gregg, the senator chairing the hearing.

Health officials in the United States have reported 115 possible cases of SARS and Canada has counted 217, including the nine deaths.

In China, where the first cases of SARS appeared in the southern province of Guangdong in November, the health ministry reported two more deaths on Monday and another 21 cases, bringing the total of cases countrywide to 1,268.

In Vietnam, where at least 65 people have been infected with SARS and four have died, health officials said they were “deeply worried” by the discovery of five new cases over the weekend.

Vietnam had been lauded by the WHO last week for its efforts to contain the spread of SARS but the new cases cast doubt on how effective the efforts have been.

“We are deeply worried about the fact that more and more new cases of SARS have been found. It is very likely than some others will show up,” said Le Dang Ha of the institute of tropical diseases at Hanoi’s Bach Mai hospital.

The new cases include a doctor and four members of the family of a man from Ninh Binh province, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Hanoi, who was hospitalised for SARS last Wednesday, the first reported case in 10 days.—AFP