Dressed in exposure suits with masks, hats and foot covers, they visited the SARS isolation ward.

After two hours of careful inspection, Dr. James Maguire, head of the WHO expert team, told reporters that the situation in this hospital is "incredibly good".

Dr. Maguire took the temperatures and pulses of the patients and asked them questions about when and where they contracted the disease. He also asked them how they were feeling and about their treatment.

Ms. Li, hospitalized on March 31, became Shanghai's first suspected SARS patient. Four days later, her 68-year-old father reported a high fever and was confirmed to be the city's second SARS case.

Li, who no longer depends on an artificial respirator, told the WHO experts that she felt much better, and that she had no symptoms of high fever, cough, phlegm or respiratory distress.

She has begun eating normally and stopped taking bacteriophage, antiviral medicines and immune globins.

Her father is also stable, although still using the respirator.

"They're getting better, which is impressive," said Dr. Maguire, who, along with his team, has declined interviews since they arrived in Shanghai.

Six WHO experts started evaluating the status of SARS prevention and treatment in Shanghai on Tuesday.

They have randomly selected several targets for investigation among 216 hospitals and 20 centers of disease control and prevention (CDC) in Shanghai, including 7 military hospitals.

They visited Shanghai No. 6 People's Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, which had previously identified four suspected cases. Three were later discharged as non-SARS cases, and the other was transferred to the Shanghai Municipal Infectious Diseases Hospital, which now hosts 10 suspected patients of the flu-like disease.

The WHO team also visited a military hospital, two CDCs and a community health-care service center on Wednesday afternoon.

Shanghai has established a three-level prevention and treatment network with CDCs at the core.

In addition to four designated hospitals, 110 monitoring posts have been set up citywide to monitor and report to the municipal health bureau on a daily basis.

Hospitals are asked to open special clinics for SARS patients and record details of potential cases.

The WHO experts told Xinhua that they admire Shanghai's network. It benefits China and the world, said Dr. Maguire.

In addition, the Shanghai municipal government has promised to inform Shanghai's expatriate community on the SARS situation once a week.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2003)