12 cities join in the flu battle
23/8/2004 10:11
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
In a bid to
prevent a large outbreak of influenza predicted to hit part of the country in
the coming winter, health officials in Shanghai and another 11 cities organised
a television conference last Saturday, the first meeting of its kind in China,
the Youth Daily reported.
This flu prediction came from Dr. Arnold S. Monto,
a World Health Organization consultant, who, at a recent flu forum in Beijing,
said that the possibility of a flu outbreak in certain parts of China, couldn't
be ruled out this winter.
According to Dr. Monto, flu is an epidemic disease
that is highly infectious and can have a sever effect on an individual's health.
Half of the 600 million to 1.2 billion people who are affected by flu each
year across the world show severe symptoms.
The death rate of the more
severe cases ranges between 8 to 10 percent, deaths from flu number between
250,000 and 500,000 each year.
The most effective measure to protect against
flu is to get inoculated with the bacteria of the latest flu variety, said
Professor Zhong Nanshan with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
He said this
will also reduce pressures on the humanitarian resources. In China, there are
more than 100 million people affected by flu each year, with 500,000 receiving
medical treatment in hospitals, according to Professor Tang Yaowu of the Beijing
Diseases Control and Treatment Center.
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