Asia Pacific health ministers and officials agreed on Sunday to work more closely to contain the spread of SARS and other infectious diseases.

Meeting in Thailand for the first time as a group, APEC ministers and officials warned that the while the SARS epidemic was now abating, much work are still needed to be done to keep the virus under control.

Vice Premier and Health Minister Wu Yi attends a photo session in Bangkok on Saturday. [Reuters]

"Much remains unknown about SARS, the diversity of its clinical features, how to treat it and the likelihood of further outbreaks," they said in a joint statement.

"Controlling SARS requires continued vigorous surveillance and containment of new cases, intensive regional and global collaboration, biomedical research .... and the sharing of timely and accurate information about the disease with national officials, international partners and the public."

The ministers and officials also released a 14-point plan calling for greater cooperation in fighting the virus.

They agreed to share all relevant information immediately with the World Health Organization and through an APEC network set up to monitor emerging diseases. They also resolved to support plans to revive tourism and trade.

"Early resumption of normal business travel and tourism is essential for overcoming the economic damage caused by SARS in recent months," the officials said.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told the ministers that SARS had caused more rapid economic damage than the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and warned that "there is no telling when it will re-emerge," according to the Associated Press.

He said the disease had revealed weaknesses in regional public health systems, and that screening measures needed to be improved so each country could better cope with future outbreaks of SARS or other diseases.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome has killed at least 812 people worldwide since it first surfaced in November in southern China.

China earlier Saturday promised more openness on SARS after coming in for criticism over its early handling of the disease.

China's deputy premier and health minister, Wu Yi, said Chinese society had become more open as a result of having to deal with the virus.

She said SARS was top of the Chinese government's agenda and pledged international openness and cooperation in future.

"When the epidemic first struck, we were unaware of its gravity. Moreover, our public health system was weak and flawed and there was neither unified chain of command nor smooth flow of information," Wu Yi said

The World Health Organization meanwhile says humans will probably be free from the virus within two to three weeks but fears of a fresh outbreak could emerge when winter comes.

APEC's 21 members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Viet Nam.

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