GENEVA -- The World Health Organization effectively declared the end to the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome Wednesday, while noting it needs to continue surveillance for at least a year.
"The global outbreak, at least in this initial phase, is clearly coming under control," the WHO said, noting that the number of new cases "has gradually dwindled to the present daily handful" during June.
The WHO, which made the announcement on the 99th day since it first warned of the threat from the SARS virus, said it "is confident that all countries that have experienced outbreaks are disclosing cases fully and promptly -- SARS is too big a disease to hide for long."