Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China

[Pathfinder]

Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China


www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-08 12:00:44

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) --

A leading expert warns A/H1N1 influenza is spreading to medium and small cities as the autumn school semester gets under way in China.

A growing number of recent flu cases in middle and primary schools in medium and small cities and the western parts of China indicated the spread of the A/H1N1 virus, Zeng Guang, a leading epidemiology expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying by Tuesday's People's Daily.

"And the flu may spread from schools to factories and companies and places thronging with people," said Zeng.

The northwestern Shaanxi Province reported another 11 students diagnosed with A/H1N1 influenza at the Xi'an University of Arts and Science Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on the campus to 40.

Similar outbreaks have been reported at schools in other regions, including Fujian, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan provinces.

The Chinese mainland reported its first critical case of A/H1N1flu on Aug. 13 in the southern province of Guangdong. Similar cases were found in Shanghai Municipality and Zhejiang Province.

China has vowed to strengthen prevention and control of the A/H1N1 virus in the run-up to National Day holiday which begin on Oct. 1.

A statement released following a State Council meeting on Monday said medical staff, technical equipment and materials should be ready at any moment in case of an influenza emergency --especially around National Day.

By Monday night, 5,592 cases of A/H1N1 flu had been reported on the Chinese mainland, of whom 3,852 have recovered.


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/08/content_12014598.htm

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China

<TABLE id=article_title border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD height=30 align=middle>Tens of millions in China could get flu </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE id=article_time border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-09-11 16:42</TD><!-- DATEFORMAT="yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm"--></TR><TR><TD height=16></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE id=article_body border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px" align=left><STYLE id=_Custom_Style_>.h1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}DIV.union { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}DIV.union TD { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}</STYLE>The A/H1N1 flu pandemic is expected to infect tens of millions of people in China in the coming autumn/winter season, according to a health ministry official.
<TABLE border=1><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE>Several millions will seek medical help and severe cases, or even fatalities, will be unavoidable, said Liang Wannian, deputy director of the ministry's emergency office at the ministry's regular press conference Friday.
China is facing a steep challenge in curbing rapidly rising H1N1 infections, which so far have sickened 7,000 people in the nation, he said.
Health institutions and workers nationwide are urged to prepare for treating patients in large numbers. When necessary, places like hotels and schools will be used to receive patients, Liang added.
Authorities are also busy stockpiling anti-flu drugs like Tamiflu and traditional Chinese medicines which are proven to be promising in preventing and treating the infection, he said.
"So far we've prepared enough Tamiflu for 10 million people," Liang said.:tiphat:http://en.ce.cn/subject/swineflu/swineflucr/200909/11/t20090911_19995744.shtml
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[Treyfish]

Re: Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China

China alarmed over outburst of swine flu
Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:19:32 GMT

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A senior official with China's Ministry of Health has raised the alarm on the country's latest H1N1 toll and warned of a fatal outbreak of the infection.

Deputy director of the ministry's health emergency office, Liang Wannian, told reporters on Friday that death toll from the new strain of the influenza A infection may suddenly increase as cold seasons draws on in the northern hemisphere.

"According to expert estimates, our nation during the autumn season might have several tens of millions infected with A(H1N1)," Wannian said in a press conference.

His comments were sparked by the recent data that shows half of the country's recent 7,000 swine flu cases were reported over the past two weeks when colder weather fronts pushed warmer systems.

"The situation we face is not optimistic," noted the authority and added, "We are facing severe challenges in our prevention and control work."

Although there have been no reports of swine flu deaths in China, the country remains on high alert as schools season approaches.

China has also announced a plan to launch nationwide vaccination in an effort to combat the disease.

ARQN/DT:tiphat:http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=105898&sectionid=3510212

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China

China says swine flu spreading inland

Associated Press

2009-09-11

Swine flu is spreading in China from cities into rural areas, and from the coast inland, a health ministry official said Friday.

Incidents of large-scale group infections are also replacing isolated ones, said Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Health Ministry's emergency office.

So far, China has not been hard hit by swine flu. Out of a population of 1.3 billion people, it has reported a total of 6,968 cases as of Thursday, with all 31 provinces having infections. No deaths have been reported.

But Liang said the virus is spreading at a quicker rate because of the arrival of autumn and the start of school terms, with more than 100 cases reported every day.

"The situation we face in controlling the virus is not optimistic," Liang told reporters, according to a transcript of the news conference.

Domestic transmission of the virus has also surpassed cases caught from overseas, making up 94.8 percent of new infections, he said. The number of domestic cases increased by 3,696 from Aug. 24 to Sept. 10, he said.

Since the World Health Organization declared swine flu a pandemic in June, pharmaceutical companies have been racing to produce a swine flu vaccine and many countries have planned mass vaccination campaigns beginning in October.

Chinese officials approved a vaccine last month they say prevents the new flu in a single dose. Liang said the country has also prepared enough Tamiflu for 10 million people.

Last month the WHO said while production was on track, the viruses being used to make the vaccine were growing slowly, which would limit global supplies.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1054821&lang=eng_news

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Expert warns of further spread of A/H1N1 flu in China

China warns of stability threat from H1N1
Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:12am


BEIJING (Reuters) -

China's public security ministry has warned police to be on guard against any threats to public order linked to the spread of the H1N1 strain of flu, including the spreading of rumors and price-gouging for drugs.

China has reported 11,722 cases of H1N1 flu, from which 7,231 people have recovered. No one has died in China, though there are six cases listed as serious by the Health Ministry.

But the stability-obsessed government is taking no chances in the world's most populous nation, with its huge disparities between rich and poor and patchy health system.

"The Ministry of Public Security ... demands all security organs pay great attention to the possible effects on social stability from the virus and work hard at stopping the virus and maintaining stability," it said on its website (www.mps.gov.cn).

"Strike hard against rumor mongers, the sale and production of fake, shoddy drugs and equipment, and the driving up of medicine prices," it added in a statement issued late on Friday.

"Prevent the spread of the virus from disturbing normal social order and anything which may affect the smooth progress of celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of new China."

The capital Beijing is already under tightened security ahead of the October 1 anniversary of 60 years of Communist rule.

The health minister this month warned that China faced a grim situation in containing H1N1 as schools start up again and the number of cases rises.

The government plans to have enough flu vaccine to cover 5 percent of its 1.3 billion population by year-end.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58I0BA20090919