Ministry of Health Announces Flu Emergency Plan

October 28, 2005

The Ministry of Health announced a plan September 28 to control the emergence of a flu pandemic, according to an item posted on the Ministry's Web site.

The Ministry of Health announced a plan September 28 to control the emergence of a flu pandemic, according to an item posted on the Ministry's Web site. Under the "Flu Emergency Preparedness Plan," Health Ministry officials recommend the establishment of an anti-influenza leading working group, surveillance networks, laboratories, and a flu and bird-flu database to address the potential for human-to-human transmission of a mutated bird-flu virus. The plan also warns that the central government needs to improve China's vaccine production capabilities, since producing the appropriate vaccine can take two to six months after a pandemic begins.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has affected poultry populations in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and western China since 2003, infecting humans and killing at least 65 people, mostly poultry workers. The strain has also resulted in the culling of tens of millions of birds to prevent the spread of the disease.