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Beijing to boost disease control(Reuters)Updated: 2007-04-08 18:18Beijing will set aside thousands of hospital beds for emergency use during the 2008 Olympic Games By the time the Games begin in August 2008, the city would have 6,350 beds and 144 hospitals equipped to diagnose and treat infectious diseases like bird flu and SARS, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Beijing Disease Prevention and Control Centre. "In the past, the outbreak of an infectious disease might not be reported in Beijing for up to a week. Now ... the delay has been reduced to less than 10 hours," Xinhua said, citing the Centre. In the outbreak of the SARS virus, which originated in southern Guangdong province in 2002 and rapidly spread around the world, about 8,000 people were infected and 800 were killed. An outbreak in Beijing panicked residents and caused many to stay indoors for weeks on end in 2003 for fear of infection. China is also seen as crucial in the fight to control bird flu. China has now reported 24 human cases of the H5N1 virus. Last month, China launched a campaign to vaccinate billions of domestic poultry to guard against outbreaks occurring this spring, when the bird-borne virus is at its most contagious. |
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