Society

China vows to fend off post-pandemic flu

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-11 02:00

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Health has said it will draw upon its experience from the H1N1 flu control to ensure prevention of the general flu, as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans for the post-pandemic period.

"Based on the experience from A/H1N1 prevention and control, we will revise emergency plans and will continue flu prevention efforts in a bid to ensure people's health," said a statement released late Tuesday by the ministry.

Figures from the ministry show that the weekly new A/H1N1 cases have remained below 30 since mid-April. Further, no deaths have been reported for 12 consecutive weeks.

While announcing the coming of the post-pandemic period, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan warned that the A/H1N1 virus will continue to spread as a seasonal flu for some years.

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Chan urged health authorities to maintain alert for the virus.

So far, about 800 deaths from A/H1N1 influenza had been reported in China, Health Minister Chen Zhu said earlier.

More than 100 million Chinese have been vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu as of May 14.

The A/H1N1 virus was first identified in Mexico in April 2009. More than 211 countries and regions have reported laboratory confirmed cases of the flu, including more than 18,000 deaths.