CHINA> National
No cause for alarm, says WHO
By Lan Tian (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-05-29 21:34

People should not be alarmed following confirmation of the first domestic transmission of A (H1N1) influenza in the Chinese mainland, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

“The situation is evolving. We must be mindful as we still do not understand how this will unfold,” said Hans Troedsson, WHO’s representative in China.

“At the moment, most of the confirmed cases in China are linked to travel. We don’t have any evidence of sustained community transmission.”

Mr Troedsson commended the country’s authorities for sharing information about H1N1 in a quick and transparent way.

Full coverage:
No cause for alarm, says WHO A（H1N1）Influenza Outbreak

Related readings:
No cause for alarm, says WHO First domestic flu case is confirmed
No cause for alarm, says WHO Patient may have caught flu in China
No cause for alarm, says WHO A(H1N1) flu cases may jump in China
No cause for alarm, says WHO Mainland flu cases rise to 14, one suspected
No cause for alarm, says WHO Mainland reports 15th flu case, 2 more suspected
No cause for alarm, says WHO Mainland reports 13th A(H1N1) flu case
“The Chinese government is working on further investigations, and has responded with a major effort to limit the spread. We are in regular contact with them for updates. Any information about confirmed cases will be passed quickly to the public,” he said.

WHO also stressed the importance of maintaining a high level of surveillance for the early detection and treatment of H1N1.

“We cannot stop the virus from spreading but we can take measures to slow it down and to mitigate its impact in the community,” Mr Troedsson said, adding that outside of the Americas, infected people have shown mild symptoms so far.

However, he urged the Chinese government to make sure that healthcare facilities and services had the capacity to respond to a community outbreak, when staff may have to deal with an increase in H1N1 victims in addition to regular patients.

Public education about H1N1 also needed to be enhanced, he said, adding that people must continue to be informed about the virus and how they can protect themselves against infection by taking simple but effective measures like social distance and practicing good hygiene.

Meanwhile, WHO director-general Margaret Chan told Xinhua that the Chinese government had mounted a robust response to the threat of H1N1 influenza.

Ms Chan reiterated the unpredictability of the virus and stressed the importance of continued surveillance as well as response adjustments.

“And of course my advice to them is that they need to adjust their public health response in line with the changing pattern of this virus,” she said.

“It’s important that they do not let their guard down,” she added.

As of Friday, 53 countries had officially reported 15,510 cases of influenza H1N1 infection, including 99 deaths, according to the WHO.