The Ministry of Health gave reassurances on Tuesday that the
current type C meningitis outbreak in China is "controllable."
No new infections or deaths had been reported, though sixteen
people were confirmed to have died so far. "There is no reason to
panic," said Deng Haihua, a ministry official.
The deaths of eight students from the eastern province of Anhui
last month attracted intense attention from the public and
authorities.
Type C meningitis, an acute bacterial disease that spreads via
the respiratory system, is not as contagious as the flu or common
cold, and usually peaks in winter and spring, said Deng.
Immunization programs against type A meningitis have been in
place since 1984, but are not effective against type C, which is
more contagious, develops more rapidly and has a higher death rate.
A type C vaccine is produced by a manufacturer in Lanzhou, capital
of northwest China's Gansu
Province.
Health authorities had previously stressed the importance of
early reporting, isolation and treatment, as this greatly improves
the likelihood of recovering and preventing new infections.
According to Xinhua News Agency, cases have been reported across
the Chinese mainland but not in China's Tibet
Autonomous Region and the provinces of Fujian
and Hainan.
There has been a gradual increase in meningitis incidence
nationwide from 2,250 in 2001 to 2,698 in 2004, but January's 258
cases were 57 percent up on the same period last year.
In the capital, the first batch of type C vaccines are expected
to arrive in the next two days, said Li Guoying, at the Beijing
Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
With Spring Festival coming up, the health ministry has issued a
general appeal to prevent further spread of the disease. The
festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, involves a great deal of
traveling across the country as families come together to
celebrate.
No meningitis cases have yet been found among travelers, a
Ministry of Railways press official named Li said, "We have urged
local railway administrations to organize disease prevention squads
to strengthen decontamination measures in stations and on
trains."
But she added that these were normal precautions taken at this
time of year, and not specifically targeted at meningitis. In the
next month, about 145 million people are expected to travel by rail
for family reunions.
On Tuesday, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of
China called on airlines and airports to take concrete measures to
stop the disease spreading via air travel.
The Ministry of Education has also pressed local education
departments to take action to prevent further infections among
students.
(China Daily February 2, 2005)