Proactive prevention urged before possible epidemic

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-02 13:23

BEIJING -- As Hong Kong health authorities confirmed Friday evening the first case of influenza A/H1N1 epidemic, China's Health Minister Chen Zhu had just warned against the possible spread of the new strain of flu virus, echoing President Hu Jintao's call for proactive prevention.

Proactive prevention urged before possible epidemic

Policemen guard the quarantined Metropark Hotel, where the patient of influenza A/H1N1 checked in, in Wanchai of Hong Kong, south China, May 1, 2009. [Xinhua]

At an emergency teleconference Friday afternoon, Minister Chen, a doctor-turned official, asked local health authorities to designate hospitals to make all necessary preparations for any patients who might contaminate the new flu virus variant, which allegedly originated from North America in April.

Chen, a recognized hematologist who is also foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, said nationwide medical workers should closely monitor outpatients who have pneumonia or flu-like symptoms, as well as track people who report to stay withA/H1N1 virus-infected people or travel in either Mexico or the United States, which had confirmed the most cases of the H1N1 type A influenza.

Chen's remarks were obviously graver than that he made at a news briefing Thursday afternoon, when the health minister exposed that Chinese President Hu Jintao convened an emergency top-level meeting discussing how to deal with any possible H1N1 influenza epidemic in China.

The Thursday meeting of the top leadership body, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, was unusual when the epidemic was even out of the Chinese borders.

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Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and other top leaders heard briefings of the country's prevention and preparation for any possible flu epidemic.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) continuously spiraled up global alerts on the flu virus, Premier Wen Jiabao set up three days ago an inter-agency coordination mechanism, grouping the Ministry of Health, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Premier Wen's stance sped up lab research on diagnostic kits for ascertaining influenza A/H1N1 virus, which was announced by Minister Chen on Thursday a quick success.

Very soon, Vice Premier Li Keqiang moved to Beijing's Capital International Airport and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) for work inspection.

The first confirmed case in China came from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) where the government identified Friday evening a Mexican traveler who took a China Eastern Airlines flight from Mexico to Hong Kong, via Shanghai.

Li Dexin, a principal investigator at the China CDC, said in an interview with Xinhua that China is capable of diagnosing influenza A/H1N1-infected people within 24 hours. Li estimated that the influenza A/H1N1 epidemic would be almost surely more vigorous than previous epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the human bird flu.

Yang Weizhong, vice director of the China CDC, said it is hard to predict where in the Chinese mainland the first influenza A/H1N1 case would be confirmed.

"In any case," Yang said, "China has switched on the nationwide epidemic monitoring web as well as kept frequent contact with the United States and the WHO on early verification and control of a national pandemic threat."

At the same time, the State Food and Drug Administration opened a green channel for testing and approving A/H1N1 vaccines. Chinese government-authorized medical workers are working with American colleagues and WHO officials to get sample A/H1N1 viruses as soon as possible for related vaccine research and production.

The Ministry of Health just added influenza A/H1N1 into Category B of infectious diseases listed in the Infectious Diseases Prevention Law, including SARS, HIV and virus hepatitis, but drafted contingency plans for possible outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 as what are targeted at the most threatening contagious diseases of Category A, including pestilence and cholera.

While constructing the preventive web against the new global flu, China sent the first international humanitarian aid, worth $5 million, to Mexico early Friday to support Mexicans' disease combat efforts.

All responses from the government, including the top leadership, suggested unprecedented preparedness for a major public health threat.

SARS broke out in early 2003. Of the world's 8,422 reported SARS cases in the year, 7,747 were found in China, including those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and globally 919 people died of SARS, of whom, 829 were in China.