People aged 20-49 are the most likely to be infected by the SARS virus, especially those between 20 and 29, said Xu Dezhong, a senior analyst with the national SARS prevention and treatment team, who conducted a study of SARS patients from April 26 to May 8.

"The study shows that the probability of infection among able-bodied young people is higher than in other age groups," said Xu.

People below the age of 19, according to Xu, are the least likely to be infected by SARS. The findings show that the measures taken by the government and by parents to reduce the risk of infection among children have paid off.

In terms of profession, medical workers are the most susceptible, with an infection rate 38 times higher than that of other professions - followed by retired people. This illustrates the fact that medical workers have made great sacrifices in the fight against SARS, said Xu.

Of China's total SARS cases, peasants accounted for 5.9 percent. However, in Hebei and Shanxi provinces in the north and in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the percentage jumped to 26, 18 and 9.1, respectively.

"Therefore, it is imperative for the local governments in these places to guard against the spread of SARS in rural areas," Xu said.

In terms of the infection rate of medical workers, the municipality of Tianjin is the hardest hit. Nearly one of every two SARS patients is a medical staff member, in sharp contrast to one of 50 in Guangdong Province in the south.

"Tianjin should do more to protect medical workers from infection," said Xu. "Guangdong's success tells us that, as long as effective measures are in place, medical workers can avoid infection."

Xu also said that since the infection rates among migrant workers in Guangdong, Beijing and Shanxi were relatively high, it is important for local governments to prevent outbreaks among migrant workers and take measures to prevent the floating population from spreading the virus to other parts of China.

The reason that elderly people are more likely to die of SARS, said Xu, is their relatively low immunity. In addition, elderly people often suffer from other diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and tumors. These factors make them more susceptible to SARS.

This trend has been seen in Hong Kong and in other parts of the world.

With regard to correlations based on profession, the study indicated a positive correlation between retired residents and the fatality rate, which is 15.4 percent. This is probably due to the fact that most retired people are elderly, said Xu.

(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2003)