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A/H1N1 influenza cases in Chinese mainland top 31,000

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-21 22:26

BEIJING: The Chinese mainland reported 2,092 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 influenza in the 48 hours ending at 3 pm Wednesday, bringing the total number of the disease's victims to more than 31,000, the Ministry of Health said here Wednesday.

So far, close to 25,000 patients have recovered. A total of 33 patients had been in serious conditions, of whom 11 were cured, the ministry said.

The disease has also caused two deaths on the Chinese mainland -- an 18-year-old woman in Tibet who died on October 4, and a 43-year-old woman who died last Friday in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

China is currently experiencing what experts called "a second round of A/H1N1 flu infection," as recent infections are more widespread and increasing rapidly.

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The number of A/H1N1 cases reported daily now can equal the number of cases reported over ten days a month earlier, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted by China Daily on Tuesday.

China was the first country in the world to issue a production license for vaccines against the A/H1N1 flu last month.

But all the vaccines so far produced in the country were stocked by the state and were not on the market, Deng Haihua, spokesman with the health ministry, said earlier this month.

More than 300,000 people had been given the vaccine by October 10, of whom 150 showed adverse reactions including local swelling and pain, fever, vomiting and fatigue.