Chinese Ministry of Health (MOH) said in Beijing Friday that the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic has started to be "effectively controlled."

Gao Qiang, executive vice-minister of health, said at a press conference that the flu-like virus started to decline gradually in late May.

The epidemic has experienced three stages in China, Gao said.

From January to March, the disease was concentrated in south China's Guangdong Province and then spread to other provinces, especially northern China's Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Tianjin in April.

China reported cumulative clinically confirmed cases of 3,460 by the end of April, Gao said.

In May, Gao said, the virus leveled off and started to decline.

In early May the average number of new SARS cases per day was 151; in mid May, it was 45 and then dropped to 14 in late May, Gao said.

As of May 29, China reported a total of 5,325 clinically confirmed SARS cases, according to the MOH.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2003)