The World Health Organisation has drastically revised its record of the number of SARS cases in Taiwan during this year's outbreak, after tests showed many had other ailments.
The number of recorded cases fell from 682 to 346, and the number of Taiwanese killed by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome fell to 37 from the earlier reported 84, according to the WHO website.
Taiwan revised the numbers it provided to the Geneva-based United Nations agency after laboratory tests showed many of the cases reported during the February-June outbreak were not SARS, the Taiwanese Centre of Disease Control said yesterday.
During the outbreak, many people were listed as SARS patients after they developed common SARS symptoms such as fever and lung infections, officials said.
But many had developed pneumonia caused by other viruses, and many of the deaths were elderly people who were misdiagnosed, officials said.