TORONTO, June 26 (AFP) - Canadian health officials reported 26 active cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, one less overnight, and less than half of the cases reported 10 days ago.
Canada is the only country outside Asia to report any SARS (news - web sites)-related deaths, with all 38 deaths since March occurring in the Toronto area.
On Thursday, the number of active probable SARS cases decreased by one overnight to 23. Ten days ago, there were 50 probable SARS cases in Ontario, the only place in Canada with any active cases.
Active suspect SARS cases remained unchanged Thursday at three.
The overall number of active cases have been declining since early June.
Fifteen SARS patients were in critical condition Thursday and being treated in SARS-designated hospitals.
Toronto -- Canada's SARS outbreak epicenter -- has had 247 probable and 132 suspect SARS cases since SARS first emerged here in March, according to federal and provincial health officials.
