# 3922
A translation today of a Chinese language article appearing on Xinhuanet, where the Health Minister of China, Chez Zhu, calls the epidemic situation there `grim’.
While no mutation of the virus has been detected, he warns that increased levels of `severe disease and deaths’ are inevitable.
It was only 2-weeks ago in the WHO Pandemic update # 70 that we were advised:
Of note, nearly half of the influenza viruses detected in China are seasonal influenza A (H3N2) viruses, which appeared prior to and is co-circulating with pandemic H1N1 2009 virus.
Today’s report indicates that:
Influenza A H1N1 positive samples accounted for the proportion of all influenza-positive specimens has reached more than 70%.
Which would suggest that the pandemic H1N1 virus is rapidly crowding out other seasonal contenders. Whether that will continue to be the case later in the year, or in subsequent flu seasons, is unknown.
A hat tip to Florida1 on Flutrackers for finding, translating, and posting this article.
Xinhua Beijing October 31 (Xinhua Zhou Ting-yu)
"At present, although not Influenza A H1N1 influenza virus mutates, the majority of patients with mild disease, but the increasing cases of severe and death is an inevitable trend." Minister of Health Chen Zhu has do a good job in the overall prevention of influenza A H1N1 influenza vaccine immunization work, said the mobilization of the General Assembly.
Informed the Ministry of Health, as of October 30, China's mainland had reported 44,981 cases of Influenza A H1N1 influenza confirmed cases, 33,184 cases had been cured.Total 82 cases of cases of severe disease has been cured in 29 cases, 6 died.
Chen Zhu said that in the October, the nation's ever-increasing cases of severe disease, the epidemic situation is quite grim.
According to the National Influenza Surveillance Network, monitoring data, Influenza A H1N1 positive samples accounted for the proportion of all influenza-positive specimens has reached more than 70%.
This suggests that influenza A H1N1 influenza virus in China has been widely taken root and become the dominant virus, influenza virus.
World Health Organization believes that the current global real number of cases and deaths are higher than the reported number of influenza A H1N1 influenza virus transmission power significantly higher than other seasonal influenza, the epidemic continued to show a rapid upward trend.
"Vaccination with the Influenza A H1N1 influenza vaccine is to do specific prevention and control work, and the most effective means of." Chen Zhu stressed that the influenza A H1N1 influenza vaccines do work, for the maintenance of our public service system functioning, reducing specific population outbreaks from occurring, reduce morbidity and mortality, reduce the hazard of an influenza pandemic in order to effectively prevent and control the second wave of the epidemic of great significance.
Local health departments with the joint prevention and control mechanisms for close cooperation between relevant, clear responsibilities, implementing the responsibility to ensure that H1N1 influenza vaccine immunization work successfully completed.
