LONG HOLIDAY MAY WORSEN SPREAD OF H1N1 IN CHINA

By Vincent Low Seng Guan

BEIJING, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Heavy movement of people across the country
during the coming National Day holiday may worsen the spread of Influenza A
(H1N1) in China.

The Health Ministry has directed transport system and village health
officials to warn travellers to take extra caution to prevent flu outbreak.

According to a ministry report, the country has reported over 1,500 new H1N1
cases over the past three days, with the total at 14,581 cases as of last
Wednesday.

More than 20 million travellers are expected during the coming National Day
holiday which will stretch up to eight days as it coincides with the Mid-Autumn
Festival.

Most people are using train transport which is more economical, moving from
cities back to their hometowns or tourist attractions for the holiday period.

"The passengers don't seem to be worried about the flu. We had to remind
them to take precautionary measures through the loudspeakers," said a media
report, citing Beijing West Railway Station official Yao Hongren.

At the Beijing Capital Airport, airport official Wang Tao said though
the
airport had suspended compulsory onboard body temperature checks as less flu
cases were detected in August and September, travellers were still given
warnings.

"We will step up the flu prevention efforts as we are expecting a large
number of overseas visitors before and after the National Day holiday," he said.

The Health Ministry has released guidelines on the H1N1 vaccination across
the country.

The guidelines indicated that students and workers in the service industry
are to be innoculated first.

Highly-infectious regions with large and floating populations are also
considered for early vaccination.

The ministry has also set up a timely response system to monitor and report
any sickness from the vaccine.

-- BERNAMA