MANILA: Asia is better prepared than other regions to handle an outbreak of swine flu due to its experience dealing with epidemics such as SARS, the WHO said yesterday.

The spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 led to countries around the region screening air passengers, closing down schools, stockpiling anti-flu drugs and quarantining thousands of suspected cases.

The epidemic, which claimed some 800 lives, gave Asia "a badly needed lesson for surveillance and the right infection control mechanisms," said Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO's Western Pacific office in Manila.