A study published Saturday by the national SARS prevention and
treatment team shows that young people and medical workers are more
susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome (
SARS).
People between the ages of 20 and 49 are the most likely to be
infected by the SARS virus, especially those between 20 and 29,
according to Xu Dezhong, a senior analyst with the national SARS
prevention and treatment team, who conducted a study of SARS
patients during the period from April 26 to May 8.
"The study shows that the probability of infection among able-
bodied young people is higher than in other age groups," said
Xu.
People below the age of 19, according to Xu, are the least likely
to be infected by SARS. The findings show that the measures taken
by the Chinese government and by parents to reduce the risk of
infection among children have paid off.
In
terms of profession, medical workers are the most susceptible, with
an infection rate 38 times higher than that of other professions --
followed by retired people. This illustrates the fact that medical
workers have made great sacrifices in the fight against SARS, said
Xu.
Of
China's total SARS cases, peasants accounted for 5.9 percent.
However, in north China's Hebei and Shanxi provinces and in Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region, the percentage jumped to 26, 18 and 9.
1, respectively.
"Therefore, it is imperative for the local governments in these
places to guard against the spread of SARS in rural areas," Xu
said.
In
terms of the infection rate of medical workers, north China' s
municipality of Tianjin is the hardest hit. Nearly one of every two
SARS patients is a medical staff member, in sharp contrast to one
of 50 in Guangdong Province, south China.
"Tianjin should do more to protect medical workers from infection,"
said Xu. "Guangdong's success tells us that, as long as effective
measures are in place, medical workers can avoid infection."
Xu
also said that since the infection rates among migrant workers in
Guangdong, Beijing and Shanxi were relatively high, it is important
for the local governments to prevent outbreaks among migrant
workers and take measures to prevent the floating population from
spreading the virus to other parts of China.
(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2003)
