New measures beef up battle against bird flu

China will revise its national influenza pandemic contingency plan based on its recent experience in fighting avian flu and lessons learned from the 2017 WHO guidelines on pandemic influenza risk management, public health officials said at the 2018 World Influenza Conference on Saturday.

The last major revisions - made in 2011 following the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic - highlighted the coordinated efforts of more than 30 institutions, according to Xu Shuqiang, director-general of the health emergency response office of the National Health Commission.

"We will make concerted efforts to improve public health, and we call on all related sectors to contribute to influenza prevention and control," he said.