Local authorities in north China have announced new measures to
check the spread of flu after a sharp rise in the number of
cases.
The number of flu cases in Tianjin Municipality has risen by
13.8 percent year on year, the municipal disease prevention
authority said yesterday.
The municipal health bureau has ordered local schools and
kindergartens to check the temperature of all students daily, and
hospitals have been told to prevent cross-infection among
patients.
The disease prevention authority in Taiyuan, capital of north
China's Shanxi Province, has ordered hospitals to
report flu cases on a daily basis and remain on high alert to group
infections. Construction sites, too, have been told to conduct
regular checks on migrants.
The health authority in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has urged its disease
prevention offices to provide prompt information to the press and
keep the public informed of any major development.
"Although flu attacks are common in these northern cities, the
chances of a large-scale flu outbreak in the near future are low,"
Ministry of Health spokesman Mao Qun'an said.
"The deadly H5N1 virus is not the cause of all types of flu," He
Xiong, deputy director of Beijing Center for Diseases Control and
Prevention, said.
A sharp drop in temperature and the poor air quality in north
China are responsible for the rise in flu cases. The reluctance of
people to pay for anti-flu vaccinations has worsened the situation.
The cost of an anti-flu jab for an adult in Beijing is 69 yuan
($8.85), a price deemed out of reach of low-income earners.
Health experts have advised people not to go to crowded areas, a
challenge in China's densely populated cities.
(China Daily January 12, 2007)