Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

Whats going in China?

"Since January, the Influenza B virus has replaced the H1N1 strain as the dominant flu virus in most parts of the Chinese mainland, including Beijing, He Xiong, deputy director of the Beijing Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), told China Daily yesterday."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010 ... 499027.htm?

A dominant seasonal flu now?

Pandemic H1N1 has already displaced it once. Probably could/will again.

Just seems strange to claim that swine flu has been pushed aside, unlike the rest of the world.

A/H1N1 Influenza Still A Long-term Threat
March 12, 2010

BEIJING, March 12 (Bernama) -- People with chronic diseases, the obese, and pregnant women face a renewed threat of contracting deadly infection of A/H1N1 influenza as spring draws near, reports Xinhua news agency on Friday.

Severe and fatal cases peaked in early and mid December last year, and have been dropping gradually since, but the disease threatened a resurgence as the weather warmed up, senior epidemilogists have warned.

"A new outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza is possible during this winter-spring season, and especially in the southern areas during summer," said Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Health, at a meeting.

Cases of patients with chronic diseases, pregnant women and obese people were much more likely to become severe or even fatal.

Pathogenic studies showed a very small chance of the A/H1N1 virus mutating during this winter and spring, so vaccination was still essential to prevent potential outbreaks.

Analyses of past flu outbreaks showed a pandemic usually lasted more than two years before turning into seasonal flu, said Shu.

"So the A/H1N1 influenza might be prevalent in the world for a considerably long time."

Experts said the government should promote vaccinations for high-risk groups, people in rural areas and migrant workers in urban areas.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 35,000 pregnant women and 37,000 children aged six months to three years had been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine and no severe adverse reactions had been reported.

As of March 7, the Chinese mainland had reported a total of 127,427 cases of A/H1N1 flu, of which 8,320 were severe and 796 people had died.

-- BERNAMA

Macao flu outbreak08:49, March 22, 2010

The Health Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region said Saturday that it had received reports about multiple flu symptoms inside a children's dormitory.

Six children who range in age from seven months to 5 years old suffered from cough and fever. Among them, one child remained in hospital because of a high fever while others were released.

The bureau received reports of a separate mass flu symptoms in a nursery class.

BEIJING - Seven new deaths from A/H1N1 influenza was reported on the Chinese mainland last month, bringing the death toll of the flu to 800, according to the latest report of the Ministry of Health.

The report posted on the website of the ministry late Friday said 429 people were confirmed to be infected with A/H1N1 flu in March, 70 of whom were hospitalized.

The figures marked a noticeable decline compared with the previous month when 18 deaths were reported and 856 cases were confirmed.

The report said a mass infection was not possible currently, but it did not rule out the possibility in the upcoming summer.

The country had been continuing its efforts of inoculation, the report said. According to a separate report of the ministry, more than 94 million people had been vaccinated against the flu as of Thursday.