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Health ministry warns against cover ups, delays in pneumonia reporting
April 26, 2006
China's Ministry of Health on Tuesday restated the need for timely reporting of suspicious pneumonia cases, warning authorities that cover ups or delays could risk the spread of infectious diseases.
Respiratory diseases were common at this time of year, and heightened awareness was needed to prevent and control SARS and human infections of the highly pathogenic bird flu, said a statement on the ministry website.
However, some medical institutes failed to make quickly report on "pneumonia cases with unknown causes," or avoided using the term by diagnosing them as severe pneumonia, it said.
Local health authorities had failed to respond quickly to reports, and some pneumonia patients who had had contact with sick or dead poultry were moved to other hospitals without guidance, risking the spread of infectious diseases.
The ministry reiterated that medical institutes must make direct reports of suspicious pneumonia cases through the nationwide network and inform local health authorities without delay.
It instructed local health authorities to organize experts to investigate cases as soon as they received reports. Centers for disease control (CDC) were ordered to carry out epidemiological research and laboratory testing and provide the results as soon as possible.
CDCs without the facilities and expertise for testing must deliver samples to CDCs at higher levels, and positive samples and those required by the ministry must be sent to the national CDC for verification without delay.
Careful screening was necessary for possible human cases of bird flu, said the ministry, noting that suspicious pneumonia cases must be verified jointly by epidemiological history, lab testing and clinical studies.
Samples testing negative to the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but with an epidemiological history, were required with undergoing two antibody tests in the acute and recovering periods.
Pneumonia cases with no clear epidemiological history required further tests and medical observation before the possibility of acute infectious respiratory diseases like bird flu could be ruled out.
Suspicious pneumonia fatalities are required to undergo autopsies, the ministry said, adding that investigation of each case of pneumonia with an unknown cause must be immediately reported.
China has reported 17 human infections of bird flu, including 12 fatalities. The Ministry of Health has urged local medical institutes and health authorities to improve surveillance, staff training and laboratory capacity, as well as to educate the public to avoid contact with sick and dead poultry.
The World Health Organization has recorded 204 human cases of bird flu involving 113 deaths by April 21. Experts have warned the virus could mutate into a form that could pass between people and cause a pandemic.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/200604/26/eng20060426_261204.html
April 26, 2006
China's Ministry of Health on Tuesday restated the need for timely reporting of suspicious pneumonia cases, warning authorities that cover ups or delays could risk the spread of infectious diseases.
Respiratory diseases were common at this time of year, and heightened awareness was needed to prevent and control SARS and human infections of the highly pathogenic bird flu, said a statement on the ministry website.
However, some medical institutes failed to make quickly report on "pneumonia cases with unknown causes," or avoided using the term by diagnosing them as severe pneumonia, it said.
Local health authorities had failed to respond quickly to reports, and some pneumonia patients who had had contact with sick or dead poultry were moved to other hospitals without guidance, risking the spread of infectious diseases.
The ministry reiterated that medical institutes must make direct reports of suspicious pneumonia cases through the nationwide network and inform local health authorities without delay.
It instructed local health authorities to organize experts to investigate cases as soon as they received reports. Centers for disease control (CDC) were ordered to carry out epidemiological research and laboratory testing and provide the results as soon as possible.
CDCs without the facilities and expertise for testing must deliver samples to CDCs at higher levels, and positive samples and those required by the ministry must be sent to the national CDC for verification without delay.
Careful screening was necessary for possible human cases of bird flu, said the ministry, noting that suspicious pneumonia cases must be verified jointly by epidemiological history, lab testing and clinical studies.
Samples testing negative to the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but with an epidemiological history, were required with undergoing two antibody tests in the acute and recovering periods.
Pneumonia cases with no clear epidemiological history required further tests and medical observation before the possibility of acute infectious respiratory diseases like bird flu could be ruled out.
Suspicious pneumonia fatalities are required to undergo autopsies, the ministry said, adding that investigation of each case of pneumonia with an unknown cause must be immediately reported.
China has reported 17 human infections of bird flu, including 12 fatalities. The Ministry of Health has urged local medical institutes and health authorities to improve surveillance, staff training and laboratory capacity, as well as to educate the public to avoid contact with sick and dead poultry.
The World Health Organization has recorded 204 human cases of bird flu involving 113 deaths by April 21. Experts have warned the virus could mutate into a form that could pass between people and cause a pandemic.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/200604/26/eng20060426_261204.html
