HK report on Sars 'system failure'

By Chris Hogg
BBC Hong Kong correspondent

System failure rather than mistakes by individuals was to blame for the Sars outbreak in Hong Kong earlier this year, according to international experts.

A report commissioned by the government has criticised the handling of the outbreak in the early stages when little was known about the disease or its cause.

Sars had a huge impact on Asia

It says the shortcomings in the territory's health system were aggravated when key personnel succumbed to the disease.

This report paints a picture of a health system that was taken by surprise and as a result overwhelmed in the early stages of the Sars outbreak.

Officials did not receive accurate information from China's neighbouring province of Guangdong, where the disease originated last year, and that made the situation worse.

But the efforts to deal with it were complicated by problems that could have been prevented with better planning.

The roles and responsibilities of those in charge were not always clear and that led to confusion.

But the report stops short of pinpointing who was responsible for the mistakes that were made.

The committee says it has not found anyone guilty of negligence or a lack of diligence.

Overall, it says, the epidemic was handled well.

The most important lesson was the need to be prepared, not just for a return of Sars but for any new infectious disease that might emerge in the months to come.

The former British colony, now a special administrative region of China, was the second worst hit area - after the mainland itself - with 298 deaths and 1,800 infections.