China said today it was prepared to prevent any new outbreak of SARS from reaching the scale of the epidemic that killed more than 300 and infected more than 5,300 people in the country this year.
"The Chinese government has intensified measures to prevent and control the disease. Even if SARS returns, the scenario like what had happened in China earlier this year will definitely not occur," Mr Gao Qiang, executive deputy health minister, was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome hit southern China about a year ago and was spread by travellers to 30 countries, killing more than 700 people and infecting about 8,500 worldwide before being brought under control in June.
Global health officials have been waiting for a possible resurgence of the disease with the onset of winter.
Mr Gao said China had found no new cases of SARS but if a case was reported, the Ministry of Health would announce it quickly. China came under heavy international criticism early this year for covering up the extent of the outbreak. But in April, the new leadership headed by President Hu Jintao sacked the health minister and Beijing mayor and ordered full disclosure of the extent of the epidemic.
"I cannot say SARS will definitely return, neither can I say SARS will definitely not return, because there are still many things about SARS that we don't know," Xinhua quoted Mr Gao as telling reporters.
Local and provincial governments had drawn up plans against SARS and some have staged exercises to handle emergency cases. The ministry had also stepped up training of medical workers and research on prevention and control, he said.