Shanghai: A six-person team from the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in Shanghai on April 21 to investigate the extent of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak.

The team, which will conduct a four-day investigation, comprises James Maguire, Wolfgang Preiser, Keigi Fukuda, Daniel Chin, Li Ailan and Xu Ruiheng.

They are expected to confer with local health authorities, inspect hospitals, colleges and local disease control centres at the municipal and district levels, and examine measures taken to prevent and control SARS cases.

Shanghai has officially confirmed two SARS cases as of April 18, although the 'Jiefang Daily' on April 21 reported that as of April 20 there were an additional nine suspected cases.

The team was met by the head of the Shanghai Centre of Disease Control Liu Jun and immediately launched into their task at Hongqiao airport, studying procedures for declaring signs of the illness on arrival in China's largest city.