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China sets up flu pandemic plan
China has set up an alert system to combat potential flu outbreaks as fears rise that a new strain of virus like bird flu could trigger a global pandemic, the government said. A national anti-flu leading group was established by the health ministry to monitor the coming flu season and ensure the preparation of vaccines and emergency medical response, it said on its website. The move comes as the flu season begins, with schools in Beijing already reporting normal flu outbreaks among children, while tour groups travelling around China have been reportedly struck by flu-like illnesses. The ministry said the new color-coded "Influenza Pandemic Response and Preparatory Plan" emphasizes its central role in coordinating a response to a potential pandemic. Four levels of alert -- red, orange, yellow and blue -- will indicate the seriousness of an outbreak, it said. The ministry said it would be responsible for monitoring the outbreak, providing vaccines, preparing emergency medical response and allocating funds for personnel and technical preparations. "The World Health Organization has encouraged China and other nations in the region to develop a response plan to an influenza pandemic," Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a WHO spokeswoman in Beijing, told AFP. "But what we would like to see is a more comprehensive plan in China that involves all sectors of civil society." The WHO is greatly concerned that bird flu outbreaks that have appeared throughout Asia could eventually jump the species barriers to infect humans and lead to a global flu pandemic, she said. "The fear is that a person infected with a normal flu also becomes infected with the avian flu, and the two flus mix to become a more dangerous strain that could easily be transmitted from human-to-human," Bhatiasevi said.
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