Guangdong, China
Officials in Guangdong province said this week that they would kill thousands of civet cats to prevent the spread of SARS. The fatal lung disease is thought to have jumped to humans from the civet, a mongooselike animal eaten as a delicacy in China. Last year’s outbreak, which started in Guangdong and killed more than 700 people worldwide, was contained, but a new case of SARS was confirmed there this week. All 10,000 civets on sale in food markets in the province are to be killed. The World Health Organization warned Chinese officials that improper handling of the corpses could actually increase the risk of SARS infection.
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