Monday marked one month since the CDC's activation of its emergency response center to deal with SARS, and the day brought what [Julie L. Gerberding] termed "mixed news." In much of the world, including Taiwan, the United States and Canada, "it looks like the outbreak has been contained," she said. Almost all the new cases of the disease in these regions are among "travelers arriving from affected areas."

The situation is far different in mainland China and Hong Kong, which have been the focus of the outbreak. According to the World Health Organization, China on Monday reported 109 new probable cases of SARS and six deaths, bringing its cumulative total to 1,418 cases and 64 deaths. The largest number of new cases, 47, occurred in Shanxi province, suggesting that the disease is spreading to China's interior from its origination in Guangdong province in the south. Two other regions have also reported SARS cases: 10 in the Inner Mongolia and three in coastal Fujian province.

The CDC noted 193 probable and suspected cases in the United States. Gerberding said that number would begin changing erratically later in the week as state health authorities begin using new diagnostic tests for the coronavirus. The CDC "has been casting a wide net" in including suspected cases in its continuing count, and many of those suspected cases undoubtedly will be found to have other causes, she noted.