400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

[Sally Furniss]

400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu
04.02.2006, 08:52 AM
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!--/OUTER BOX TABLE--> BEIJING (AFX) - Over 400 students at a university in central China's Henan province were hospitalized with high fevers linked to an unknown flu virus, state press and a school official said.

The outbreak began on March 26 when 22 students were hospitalized with high fevers, Xinhua news agency said.

The next day the number of sick students at the Henan University of Science and Technology in Luoyang city rose to 88, and on March 28 there were 208 sick students in the university's infirmary, it said.

'There were over 400 students that became feverish with the flu,' a university official who declined to be named told Agence France-Presse when contacted by phone.
He refused to detail what type of flu it was or how the outbreak had succeeded in infecting so many students.

Local health officials were currently trying to identify the flu strain, Xinhua said.

The temperatures of some of the students reached 39.6 degrees celsius, it said.

The sick students were quarantined while school officials, under directions from provincial health authorities, cancelled classes and began disinfecting the university's 2,000 dormitory rooms, dining halls and classrooms, it said.

Most students were only hospitalized for about three days and released, the report said, adding that only several dozen students remained hospitalized as of today.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2006/04/02/afx2640033.html

[Mellie]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

39.6 C= 103.3 F

That's pretty high.

[gsgs]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

weather was pretty good, 10-20? C the last weeks, so no typical flu-weather.
Are there maps from actual flu in that region ? Or east-asia in general ?
What strains were dominant ? (It should be somewhere on the web...

[myredchinablues]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

The protective wear is very unusual for China! They must think this is serious. This also says that they have eliminated two types of flu...



<TABLE id=Content cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=625 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=48 rowSpan=4></TD><TD width=573>400 students sickened with unknown fever
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-04-03 14:41
<!--enpcontent-->
Over 400 students at a university in central China's Henan province were hospitalized with high fevers linked to an unknown flu virus, the press and a school official have said.
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 206px; HEIGHT: 255px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=206 align=left bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left bgColor=#ffffff>
A Chinese policeman wears a suit to protect against contagious diseases. Over 400 students at a university in central China's Henan province were hospitalized with high fevers linked to an unknown flu virus. [AFP]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The outbreak began on March 26 when 22 students were hospitalized with high fevers, Xinhua news agency said.
The next day the number of sick students at the Henan University of Science and Technology in Luoyang city rose to 88, and on March 28 there were 208 sick students in the university's infirmary, it said.
"There were over 400 students that became feverish with the flu," a university official who declined to be named said when contacted by phone.
He refused to detail what type of flu it was or how the outbreak had succeeded in infecting so many students. Local reports said medical experts have ruled out two types of flu.
Local health officials were currently trying to identify the flu strain, Xinhua said.
The temperatures of some of the students reached 39.6 degrees celsius (103.3 degrees Fahrenheit), it said.
The sick students were quarantined while school officials, under directions from provincial health authorities, cancelled classes and began disinfecting the university's 2,000 dormitory rooms, dining halls and classrooms, it said. Most students were only hospitalized for about three days and released, the report said, adding that only several dozen students remained hospitalized as of Sunday.
<!--/enpcontent--></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...ent_558665.htm

[Mellie]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

This is worrisome. How do we really know they were released?

Can't they say if they were A or B at least?

[emmysue]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

Henan authorities refuse to reveal cause of university flu outbreak

http://www.interfax.cn/showfeature.asp?aid=11707&slug=birdflu

Shanghai. April.3 INTERFAX-CHINA- Henan Department of Health has refused to reveal the cause of a flu-like outbreak which has infected 400 students at a university in the province.
Students at Henan University of Science and Technology, in Luoyang city, started to become ill on March 26 which resulted in many needing hospital treatment - as many as 400, according to state media.
Henan Department of Health said laboratory tests showed the infection is not type A or type B influenza.
Interfax asked vice director of the disease control and prevention division of Henan Department of Health, Shan Xinguo, why so many students contracted the disease at the same time, but he declined to give any details.
He said, "What I can say is the infection is now under control, and we can't give any further information,"
Shan Xinguo said the students had contracted upper respiratory tract infections.
He said, "It's normal for students to have upper respiratory tract infections, especially in spring. And at colleges, students are concentrated, so it's easy for many students to become infected with the disease at the same period of time."
Another official from Henan Department of Health, who declined to be named, said the situation is now under control, and the fever was starting to pass.
"The reason why so many students developed fever continuously still remains unclear," she said, "We are still investigating the matter, but we are sure the students are not victims of an epidemic influenza infection."
She said the main symptoms of the sick students were fever and joint pains, and that most recovered one or two days after medial treatment.
Shan Xinguo said the ill students had been quarantined and treated, and that some TCM preparations have been sent to students to prevent the disease. Over 2000 dormitories as well as 130 classrooms are now being sanitized twice a day.
As of April 2, ten students were still in hospital for clinical observation

[Mellie]

Re: 400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu

That's real reassuring!!!