Beijing: China Tuesday said the country was
facing a "grim" situation in its efforts to stave off fresh
outbreaks of swine flu, as monitors in France said the number
of cases there was much higher than claimed.
The pessimistic news came as the northern hemisphere
prepares for the onset of autumn and winter, which experts
believe will result in an expected second wave of the global
A(H1N1) influenza pandemic.
China, the world`s most populous country, is scheduled to
launch its nationwide vaccination programme "this week",
Health Minister Chen Zhu told reporters, but he admitted
Beijing was facing an uphill battle.
"China will be facing a grim situation in the prevention
and control of the A (H1N1) flu," Chen said, adding that supply
of vaccines would "fall far short of demand if compared to the
demand of 1.3 billion people".
China, which last week approved a homegrown one-dose
vaccine, said it would become the first nation to launch a
mass programme to inoculate the population against the A (H1N1)
virus, now the world`s most prevalent flu strain.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Friday that at
least 2,837 people had died from A (H1N1) flu globally. The
virus, which originated in the Americas, has already been
detected in nearly every country in the world.
China has so far reported 5,592 cases of A (H1N1) flu but
no deaths.
Bureau Report
