By April 24, a total of 105 out of 112 SARS patients had recovered and had been discharged from the provincial Chinese Medicine Hospital based in Guangzhou. Meanwhile, the No 1 Hospital attached to the Guangzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine University had successfully treated all of its 36 SARS patients and kept its medical staff safe from the deadly virus with the help of TCM, according to its administration.

The Chinese people's belief in TCM will also add to the value of the field, said Wang Shuchen from the Xiyuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Beijing.

The fact that many people immediately rushed to seek help from TCM as soon as the epidemic broke out in Guangdong and Beijing is proof, Wang said.

Based on the experience in Guangdong, the State Administration of TCM recently launched guidelines for doctors including recommended uses of TCM to prevent and treat SARS.

The guidelines, made by top TCM experts in China, separate TCM treatment into four stages - the early, middle, peak and recovery periods - while working with Western medicine.

The guidelines also provide a series of different prescriptions for people of different ages and health, which have become popular among residents in many cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou.

The treatment results were also noted by experts from the World Health Organization when they visited Guangdong.

Huang Mingda from the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine has proposed a national program for a systematical use of TCM to help prevent and treat the flu-like disease.

The program, which extends to policy-making, clinical treatment, technical support and medicine research, is expected to share the latest TCM research on combating SARS with the public and medical profession.

It will also help publicize the value of TCM in fighting the disease.

(China Daily May 20, 2003)