Flu statistic dwarfed by bureau estimate

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-25 10:33

The local health bureau said yesterday that 9,007 Beijingers have been officially identified as suffering from A/H1N1 flu, adding that more than 50 percent were students.

But the official statistic follows a much larger estimate on Monday from Fang Laiying, head of the Beijing municipal health bureau, that as many as 400,000 might have had the A/H1N1 flu virus by Monday.

Fang said 1.7 million people in the city have been vaccinated but 90 percent of city residents who haven't been vaccinated or hadn't recovered already are still at risk.

As of Monday, 26 people had died from the illness in the city, including 15 Beijing citizens.

And among those identified in the official report, 352 were foreigners and residents from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing center for disease control and prevention, said the number of A/H1N1 flu cases is rapidly increasing and most occur in schools.

He also said a large percentage of new cases are concentrated in Fengtai, Haidian and Chaoyang districts.

"The flu is spreading quickly and I think the public should get vaccinated as quickly as possible," added Yu Hongjie, a medical professor at the center.

"I will get inoculated this weekend because I am in contact with many people everyday. I am in danger of getting infected," said Zhao Xilan, a shop owner in Chaoyang district.

But public opinion about getting the vaccination remains unsteady.

"I don't know whether I should get the vaccination or not because I worry about how safe it is," said Ma Shuyuan, a secretary at a travel agency.

Qian Yuan, a professor at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, said severe cases usually occur in younger groups. He suggested patients who experience fever for more than three days should go to a hospital.

The standard treatment offered by most Chinese hospitals is a combination of Chinese herbal medicine and western medicine. The average cost for a physical check and treatment is 200 yuan.

A notice posted Monday on the health bureau's website advised the public to wash their hands regularly.

From last Saturday, foreigners and migrants from other provincial areas were allowed to get free vaccinations.