Over three spring months last year, SARS killed almost 300 people and infected more than 1,800 in the city, devastating the economy as well as helping to fuel Hong Kong's worst political crisis since the 1997 handover.

The death of visiting Chinese doctor Liu Jianlun on March 4, 2003 served as the catalyst for a health crisis that spread around the world.

Liu had caught SARS in China, but during his stay in Hong Kong passed it onto other holidaymakers; they in turn spread it to 32 countries where it killed almost 800 people and infected more than 8,000.

Immediately the government came under attack for responding too slowly. While other infected territories, such as Singapore, appeared to have the disease under control, weeks into the scourge Hong Kong was still reporting more and more deaths.

Chief executive Tung Chee-hwa bore the brunt of the criticism and continues to suffer from SARS fallout, analysts say.

"It's not that the government just neglected its responsibilities, it's poor judgement actually exacerbated the problem," said Paul Harris, a political professor at Lingnan University.

"The government basically said 'there is nothing to worry about' when there was everything to worry about. It's no surprise that he now commands neither the trust nor the confidence of the Hong Kong people."

Arguably, an unprecedented July 1 march in protest at government policy was as much motivated by the SARS crisis as by politics.

"Had so many people not felt so utterly betrayed by the SARS experience I doubt so many would have marched," said Harris.

The fallout stung Tung, observers say, and he has kept a low profile since.

"He won't say anything because he knows there is nothing he can say that will gain the trust or the confidence of the people," said Joseph Cheng, political science professor at Hong Kong City University.

Post-SARS Hong Kong looks a little brighter, nontheless.

While the economy took an enormous hit as tourists and investors lost confidence in the city, it has clawed back much lost ground.

The Asian Development Bank estimated SARS cost Asian economies as much as 60 billion dollars, or more than 1.5 percent of the region's gross domestic product (GDP), with Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong among the worst hit.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) travel advisory against the city in the early stages of SARS, decimated its tourism industry.

Hotels remained empty for weeks, airlines halved their daily flights and bars and restaurants emptied as tourists stayed away and locals stayed at home.

Even the mighty HSBC bank this week said first-half profits were dented by the crisis, and Hang Seng Bank attributed part of its 3.8 percent slump in 2003 earnings to SARS.

But the bouce back has been significant and after downgrading its GDP forecast for 2003 by half to 1.5 percent as a result of SARS, Hong Kong readjusted it back to 3.0 percent on the back of a second-half rebound.

The Tourist Board says hotel occupancy rates are almost back to pre-SARS levels and visitors from China -- Hong Kong's tourist motherlode -- soared to record numbers over the Chinese New Year.

There has even been academic defence of some of the medical woes during

"Some of the clinical failings that SARS exposed were the sorts of things that health services all over the world were lacking," said Desmond O'Toole, biologist at City University. "But they aren't worries anymore -- the health service has learned."

There have been other gains too: streets are now conspicuously cleaned; schools are now supplied with soap; huge on-the-spot fines are leveled at dirty food outlets; and, a massive campaign has been launched to stigmatise public spitting -- a common complaint of visitors.

But for all the surface improvements, deeper down, SARS-fears still lurk.

A Hong Kong Mood Disorders Center survey in January showed a third of respondents remained emotionally distressed by the outbreak a tenth of whom suffered anxiety attacks.

The collective fear of SARS' return was obvious in the response to the emergence of new cases in China this year: the government immediately imposed stringent health checks on travellers from China.

"I do think the government has learned, to a point," said Cheng. "Because they are scared of another outbreak, people are watching every move. The government cannot help but be responsive."

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