He made the remarks during a visit to the microbiology department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Medical Institute and to the genealogical institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, highly praised the research staff of the two institutes for their efforts in the development of the technology used in rapid diagnosis of SARS after successfully isolating the new type of coronavirus, which is believed to be the causative agent responsible for SARS.

The key to win the battle against SARS is to give full play to science and technology, Hu stressed, asking the scientists to continue to develop an effective cure for SARS.

Hu said that the Chinese government is concerned with the SARS outbreak in parts of the country. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have been giving top priority to the situation, he said, noting that a number of measures have been taken.

He said the rapid identification of the causative agent and thequick development of a method to effectively and quickly diagnose the virus have become vital for SARS prevention and treatment.

He said the battle against SARS is a major task affecting the health and safety of the Chinese, as well as the country's development and stability.

He urged governments at all levels to be fully conscious of the extreme importance and stringency of prevention and control of thedisease and to spare no efforts to do a better work in all aspectsin accordance with the deployment and requirements of the central government.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2003)