The death toll from a respiratory virus causing a global health scare hit 100 today as more deaths from the mystery disease were reported in China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
China and Singapore each revealed two more deaths from the virus today while Hong Kong reported one, taking the global death toll to exactly 100 - 53 in China, 23 in Hong Kong, nine in Canada, eight in Singapore, four in Vietnam, two in Thailand and one in Malaysia.
Nearly 2,800 suspected cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have been detected around the world with China (1,268 cases) and neighboring Hong Kong (883) the hardest hit. Two "probable" cases were reported in Ireland.
As SARS claimed four more lives in Asia, the first confirmed case was reported in Portugal and a fifth suspected case was detected in Britain.
Vietnam reported five more cases of the disease today, dealing a setback to its efforts to contain the outbreak of the pneumonia-like respiratory virus.
China, meanwhile, 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 today to brief lawmakers on the spread of the disease in North America.
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 today and another 21 cases, bringing the total of cases countrywide to 1,268.
In Hong Kong, where schools have been shut and hundreds quarantined, the health authorities reported the death of a 78-year-old woman from SARS and an additional 41 new cases of the disease.
AFP