The full recovery of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the world averages 85 percent while the case fatality rate is various by age group, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.

David Heymann, WHO executive director for communicable disease, summarized the information about SARS known by WHO at the ongoing WHO global SARS conference.

The death rate for patients at the age of 65 or above is over 50 percent while the rate for those younger than 24 is under 1 percent. The rates for the age group from 25 to 44 and from 45 to 64 are 6 percent and 15 percent respectively, Heymann told the conference.

The incubation period for SARS is three to 10 days, he added.

The official said health workers remain the primary risk group in second generation. Others at risk include family members of SARS patients and their contacts.

Heymann said a majority of transmissions has been close personal contact, but in Hong Kong environmental factors caused localized transmission.

The two-day WHO global SARS conference opened here on Tuesday. Some 1,000 scientists, medical workers and health officials are attending the meeting to share their experience and discuss the strategy for dealing with SARS.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2003)