China Ups SARS Death Toll

Nine people died of severe acute respiratory syndrome in March in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, the provincial government said Wednesday.

The report from the province where the disease is believed to have originated brings the total number of acknowledged deaths from the disease in mainland China to at least 43, and raises the worldwide death toll to at least 75.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, the Guangdong provincial government said it had 361 new cases in March of the illness known as SARS. The statement said 507 people who had contracted the illness earlier were released from hospitals last month.

The report gave the first new figures for deaths from SARS in Guangdong since the provincial government disclosed last week that 31 people had died there through the end of February.

Three deaths also have been reported in Beijing, and the Shanghai Health Department scheduled a briefing for Wednesday afternoon.

The Guangdong government statement said the number of new cases reported in March declined by 47.5 percent compared to February.

The illness has spread — apparently from Guangdong — to at least six countries and prompted quarantines as far away as Singapore and Canada. The first cases were reported in Guangdong in November.

In addition the deaths in mainland China, there have been 16 in Hong Kong, six in Canada, four each in Vietnam and Singapore, and two in Thailand.

On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department authorized the departure of nonessential employees and family members from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, as a precautionary measure.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said more pressure would be applied on China, where the disease first unfolded but was kept quiet for months.

"It's important to see if we can work in more of a collaborative fashion with China," said Thompson, who was touring a new emergency operations center of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I think we're going to put on more pressure."

A spokesman for the Chinese Health Ministry confirmed that it had received a request for Health Minister Zhang Wenkang to talk by phone with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson. The spokesman, who would give only his surname, Wu, said U.S. officials asked for the call to take place at 1200 GMT on Wednesday.

However, he said the Health Ministry didn't know yet whether Zhang could take part because he is "very busy."

The World Health Organization's office in Beijing said it had not received notification from Chinese authorities about the new death figures. WHO officials said China had promised last week to deliver, from every province, daily reports on the progress of SARS and efforts to contain it.

A WHO team is still awaiting permission to travel to Guangdong.

China is facing growing international criticism for what some say is its lack of candor about the disease's spread.

"I think Guangdong province is a major, major part in the global outbreak," said Chris Powell, a WHO spokesman who said he was surprised at the manner in which the new Guangdong figures were released.