CHINA> National
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CHINA> National
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More H1N1 cases stoking public fears in China
By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-03 08:24 Major challenges ahead Deputy director He agreed with Tan, urging more forceful implementation of rules to combat the pandemic among all stakeholders, ranging from the government to schools to the general public. "Relative countermeasures and policies have been in place for a long time and there should be no slackness in executing that," he said.
In early September, when the new school term opened in China, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education jointly issued a notice asking education institutions nationwide to avoid student assemblies to avert potential mass infections. However, top-notch Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics held military training for its freshman students off campus. The country's fourth H1N1 victim, who had attended the training and got infected there, died on Tuesday. Sources with the university said the school authority risked breaking the rule by organizing the off-campus training to make way for some 4,000 visiting participants of the "Challenge Cup," a national competition in science and technology. But this has not been confirmed by school authorities. The event, dubbed the Science Olympics for Chinese undergraduates, is being held by the university this year and opened there last Wednesday. The same day, the Beijing health bureau reported the death of the 18-year-old male student from H1N1 flu. "Without the military training, the death might have been avoided," He said. Stockpiled supplies Officials have stockpiled antiviral drugs, mostly Tamiflu and vaccines. But with the virus hitting China even harder, shortages are possible, and may already be a reality, experts warned. In June, experts revealed that by then China only had enough Tamiflu for about 0.6 percent of the population. Fortunately, some traditional Chinese medicines showed promise in treating the virus, though not for severe cases. Since late September, when vaccinations began, China has inoculated about 3.8 million people against H1N1. Health Minister Chen Zhu vowed to have 65 million people inoculated by the end of year and to prepare 100 million doses by next March. "I believe 5 percent is based on the production capacity of pandemic H1N1 vaccine manufacturers in China, which was a start and would increase next year," said Vivian Tan. "For now, the 5 percent (mostly high-risk groups) who get the vaccine will be protected against H1N1 infection. Vaccinated people will also indirectly protect the people around them as they will not be sources of transmission," she added. Vaccinations worldwide WHO plans to distribute 200 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to 100 developing countries soon. China is not on the list for now, According to Tan. "China has not asked for WHO's help to supplement its vaccine supplies," said Tan. As a vaccine-producing country, China, which does not have enough H1N1 vaccine to go around, is still in a much better position than many developing countries that do not produce their own vaccine and have no access to it, she added. Crowded hospitals As the nationwide vaccination schedule expands to prevent new infections, hospitals across the nation are bearing the brunt of a sharply increasing number of flu patients. Authorities ordered intensified efforts by hospitals nationwide to further enhance medical care capacity, particular for severe cases. Previously, Ministry of Health officials warned that people in the western regions are in more danger of H1N1 influenza compared to their eastern counterparts due to inadequate medical resources. Health Minister Chen Zhu said the ministry would help improve the ability of flu prevention and control in the west, including training local medical staff and supplying vaccines and medicines. Within hospitals, sound measures should be taken to prevent secondary H1N1 infections, said the notice issued by the Ministry of Health. In Beijing, some medical workers became infected while treating H1N1 patients, said He Xiong, who declined to report the exact number. More importantly, "the public should also play their part in pandemic prevention," He Xiong urged. People should practice basic hygiene like proper and frequent hand washing as a permanent habit, he said. "We hope the practice could be kept as a health legacy from the pandemic," he said.
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