To prevent a flu outbreak

A Chinese netizen has written to www.rednet.cn, advising how to prevent a swine flu outbreak in China. Excerpts:

Swine flu has not been reported in China, but that does not mean we let our guard down.

The government should use the 2003 SARS outbreak as example to prepare for an eventuality, and announce the measures its departments and organizations have taken to prevent the spread of swine flu. It should stop people from spreading rumors and causing unnecessary panic among the public -- and that can be done only through timely release of information.