BEIJING, May 2: China said on Friday the worst appeared to be over for SARS-stricken Beijing as international experts said China faced a crucial battle in the next few months to contain the virus and stop it spreading globally.

There was worrying news from Hong Kong where a group of scientists said the virus had been mutating rapidly, making a cure or vaccine more difficult.

In Beijing, the deputy director general of the Municipal Health Bureau, Liang Wannian, told a news conference the pneumonia-like disease was peaking in the capital, the hardest hit city in the world with 91 deaths and more than 1,600 cases.

Officials stressed it was too early to say when SARS would be brought under control in Beijing — let alone in the vast country’s rural areas, whose rickety healthcare system would be no match for a full-blown outbreak of the mysterious disease.

“Since April 21, the number of SARS patients in Beijing has entered the peak period,” Liang said, adding the conclusion was based on figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday.

“My personal judgment is the present high plateau of the number of cases in Beijing will continue for a period of time. Overall the situation in Beijing is stable, and the upward trend has been effectively checked,” he said.

Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in the capital will likely drop in the next 10 days, if the virus does not mutate, he said.

Globally SARS has infected more than 6,300 people in 30 countries, killing more than 400.

WHO: The World Health Organisation said China was facing a critical period.