Learning from SARS, China vows swift flu reporting

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has vowed to disclose any human cases of swine fever promptly, while state-run newspapers on Tuesday urged officials to be open and avoid the kind of cover-ups that brought panic during the SARS epidemic.

The empty streets, schools and shops, worried citizens wearing masks and fleeing travellers now seen in Mexico are familiar to China, where in 2003 the SARS virus shut down much of the country, killing hundreds in the mainland and Hong Kong.