More than 42 per cent of Beijing residents feel nervous about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), according to a survey.

The Chinese Mainland Socioeconomic Survey and Information Research Institute conducted the survey between April 19 and 23.

Another 13.4 per cent of respondents in Beijing said they were unsure about how they felt about the climbing number of SARS cases and the intense efforts to check the further spread of the disease.

Beijing is now one of the places hardest hit by SARS, with confirmed cases in the capital outnumbered only by South China's Guangdong Province, where SARS first broke out.

Cong Zhong, a psychiatrist with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said : "People in epidemic-hit areas should learn to accept such emotional change as fear and anxiety, talk with others and express what they feel as a way to relieve the pressure."

The institute surveyed 855 residents of Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Xi'an. Some 33 per cent of all those surveyed said they feel "very nervous" or "nervous" about SARS.

The survey also noted an increase in the pressure felt by respondents after April 21, when the Ministry of Health released much higher figures for the number of confirmed and suspected SARS cases compared to five days before. More than 40 per cent of respondents said they felt nervous afterwards, compared to 32 per cent before.

Xiao Zhenyu, a researcher with the institute, said: "The increased transparency in the disclosure of information and the reshuffling of government officials have made residents aware of the seriousness of the situation, leading to the increase in pressure."

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2003)