Spit and be fined: China’s attempt to check SARS

China is attempting to stampout spitting with a campaign against the traditional practice, which doctors say spreads diseases such as the fl...

China is attempting to stampout spitting with a campaign against the traditional practice, which doctors say spreads diseases such as the flu-like SARS virus and highly contagious tuberculosis.

Beijing and Guangzhou, two cities battling SARS, have sent more than 1,000 sanitary workers onto the streets to police spitting, characterised by a hawking sound that now sends nervous passers-by scurrying for fear of catching the deadly virus. Violators will be fined 50 yuan ($6) for sharing their phlegm or urinating in public, up from five yuan, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

‘‘Though it is a terrible habit, spitting has a long history in China. Some people even think if they don’t spit they won’t be popular,’’ Liu Junzhuo, a professor at Peking University said. Spitting, which can propel infectious respiratory droplets to other people, is a major way to spread respiratory diseases like SARS and the potentially fatal tuberculosis, she said.

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The WHO says China has about five million tuberculosis sufferers, the second largest tally in the world after India. More than 5,000 Chinese have caught SARS. Wang Yu, a doctor treating SARS patients at Beijing’s You’an Hospital, said banning spitting would help stop the transmission of SARS across China.

‘‘Spitting can unavoidably spread the SARS virus, which can survive for a relatively long period at normal temperatures,’’ he said. The habit has a long history in China, supported by the common belief that frequent internal cleansing — burping, passing gas and discharging phlegm — was healthy for the body. Older people tend to spit more, while many in the younger generation have heeded sporadic government campaigns against the habit. (Reuters)