Some 10,000 palm civets in the markets in and around the Chinese city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province are due to be slaughtered. The animals, which are sold for food, will be dispatched because they carry the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has turned up in a resident of the region — the first case, apart from those caused by laboratory contamination, since last year's global outbreak (see page 89).

The slaughter plan and the quick reporting to the World Health Organization (WHO) of the infected patient are a welcome sign that China is now taking its public-health responsibilities seriously. This is in marked contrast to the tardy and secretive response to the previous outbreak, which first emerged in rural areas of Guangdong province in late 2002. However, the case also exposes shortcomings in China's system for monitoring and responding to infectious disease.

There is no evidence that slaughtering civets will prevent further human cases of SARS. The natural animal reservoir for the SARS virus remains unknown — civets may be infected in markets from some other animal, and we don't even know whether they can pass the virus to people.

Still, given that the animals are destined for slaughter anyway, one could argue that disposing of them quickly is a reasonable precaution. The real question, however, is why they are on sale in the first place. At the height of the SARS outbreak, China closed its wildlife markets, only to lift the ban in August. That relaxation was unwise.

Questions also remain about the adequacy of China's system of monitoring for SARS and other emerging diseases. Away from major cities, many clinics — especially those specializing in traditional medicine, which are the first stop for most of the population — are not integrated into the disease-surveillance system. If China is to protect its people from re-runs of last year's SARS nightmare, this needs to change.