The roll-out will begin on Nov. 16 and during the program which last until Dec. 13, some 402 clinics will be opened across the city. People will be able get their free shots, Saturday's China Daily reported.

    People who are living temporarily in the municipality might also get inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine, if they work in important public service departments in the city, Zhao Tao, director of the emergency response office under the Beijing Health Bureau was quoted as saying.

    As of Thursday, the city had vaccinated 440,000 residents, most of whom were students and people with key public service jobs.

    More than six milli...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:11:10 +0800     BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Beijing health authorities said on Friday that they would extend the A/H1N1 flu vaccine inoculation to all the city's 16 million residents as death toll from the epidemic kept rising on the Chinese mainland.

    "The city now has 3.63 million dozes of A/H1N1 vaccines," said Zhao Tao, an official with Beijing Public Health Bureau. "Everyone above three years old with registered residence of the city can have free inoculation as long as they want to."

    He said more vaccines would be allocated to the city.

    Before the latest decision, Beijing gave priority to people more likely to fall victim to A/H1N1 flu, such as students and medical personnel, when handing out the vaccine.

    Zhao said as of Thursday, more than 440,000 residents in Beijing had been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine and no case o...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:13:20 +0800 /articles/09/1102/195880/MTk1ODgwuTg1A156.html     BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The A/H1N1 influenza was spreading rapidly across the country but it remained under control, an official with the Ministry of Health said here Sunday.

    "Currently close to 80 percent of the country's total flu infections are A/H1N1 flu cases, though the state of the flu was still mild and there was no evidence of virus mutation," Liang said.

    As of Saturday, more than 46,000 confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases had been reported on the Chinese mainland, 75 percent of whom had recovered. Among the 93 cases of serious condition, 55 were still in hospital, the ministry said. Chinese mainland has reported six deaths from the flu since Oct. 2.

    Ministry experts warned that the flu has entered a period featured by high frequency and quick increase in the number of infected cases in the country, and it could last through March next year.

...]]> Lifestyle Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:11:57 +0800 /articles/09/1101/195830/MTk1ODMwZ4bRZRRw.html

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:10:52 +0800

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:12:06 +0800 /articles/09/1101/195823/MTk1ODIz5x6yq7uo.html     HARBIN, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province reported its first death case of A/H1N1 influenza on Saturday.

    It is believed to be the fifth death case of the disease in Chinese mainland.

    The Ministry of Health had reported two new death cases in a statement on its website, bringing the total deaths to six. But information of the sixth case is not yet available.

    According to an official in charge of publicity in the Heilongjiang Provincial health department who declined to be named, the patient was a local adult of Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital.

    The official didn't give further details.

    Deaths from A/H1N1 have earlier been reported from Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Beijing.

    According to earlier report, a seven-year-old boy in northeast China's ...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:11:41 +0800 /articles/09/1101/195822/MTk1ODIypOv462pu.html Lifestyle Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:11:21 +0800 /articles/09/1031/195775/MTk1Nzc1YTRmYTdj.html A statement from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education said private university students could apply to enlist in the PLA directly.

This brings the total number of Beijing higher education institutions that are open to direct recruitment to 88. The other 75 are all state-run colleges.

Recruiting stations in Beijing reportedly have received applications from about 2,500 college graduates and 600 undergraduate students.

If recruited, every graduate soldier is eligible for a one-off refund on their college fees of up to 15,000 yuan (US$2,000).

This was one of the preferential policies announced this year to encourage Chinese graduates to enlist.

They will have more opportunities on promotion and enrolment in military academies. After finishing two ye...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:52:38 +0800 /articles/09/1030/195658/MTk1NjU4FPwon6HK.html Project Hope, a Chinese program aiming at financing education for poverty-stricken students, has benefited more than 3.46 million rural students since its establishment in 1989.

    According to the Hospital Authority, a 59-year-old female patient with cervical myelopathy and bilobar hepatocellular carcinoma attended the Special Outpatient Clinic of Queen Mary Hospital due to fever and cough on Oct. 14. She was confirmed to have been infected with the virus on Oct. 19. Her condition continued to deteriorate and she succumbed at 10:02 a.m. on Oct. 25.

    In addition, a 60-year-old male patient was admitted to Intensive Care Unit of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for further management owing to physical illness on Oct. 24. Positive result of Influenza A/H1N1 virus was confirmed on the same day. The patient's condition continued to deteriorate and he succumbed at 9:47 a.m. on Oct. 26. The patient h...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:12:56 +0800 /articles/09/1028/195402/MTk1NDAy3N309tfy.html     BEIJING, Oct. 27 -- With smooth hot stones along energy meridians is a good way to get your qi (energy) flowing, relax your muscles and expel toxins. Fei Lai rocks out. Autumn is a season for harvest and storing, a time to get rid of toxins, absorb energy and nourish the body.

    Hot stone massage, especially recommended in this season, is a highly detoxifying massage that uses smooth heated stones - it's warming, penetrating and very relaxing. Think how good it feels outdoors when you lie on a warm flat rock.

    "Hot stone massage gives a special connection with nature, says Rita Cheng, a therapist at Green Massage's new Shanghai Center branch. "It feels amazing."

    The heat of the stones helps muscles relax more quickly than traditional massage.

    "It's deeply therapeutic and comforting. The healing experience can release tight mu...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:12:36 +0800 /articles/09/1028/195401/MTk1NDAxJdk0iixu.html     BEIJING, Oct. 27 -- Anxiety, palpitations, trembling, heavy sweating and insomnia sound like facts of life for many stressed-out white-collar workers.

    But if they are extreme and persistent, they can also be symptoms of hyperthyroidism - overproduction of thyroid hormones that stimulate metabolism.

    Incidence of hyperthyroidism has increased rapidly in recent years among Shanghai white collars, according to doctors.

    Among the causes are immune system problems and excessive intake of iodine, which is often added to salt. Seafood and marine products are also rich in iodine. Hyperthyroidism can run in families. Psychological pressure and fatigue can trigger symptoms.

    In the early stages there are no symptoms. By the time symptoms are noted, the condition is advanced. See an internist for an overall diagnosis. Do not dose yours...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:12:17 +0800 /articles/09/1028/195400/MTk1NDAweQ0uHUEM.html     BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Health Ministry Tuesday asked medical institutions across the country to train their staff to identify and treat critical cases of A/H1N1 influenza, after three deaths had been reported.

    Medical staff, especially those in grassroots and remote areas, needed training to better diagnose and treat patients, said a statement on the ministry website Tuesday.

    Medical institutions should make technical preparations with emergency teams, wards and facilities, it said.

    However, the ministry did not reveal details of the training schedule.

    As fall and winter approach, China has reported an increasing number of A/H1N1 flu cases. As of Monday, the mainland had reported more than 36,000 cases, of whom almost 30,000 had recovered. Of the 53 critical cases, 17 had recovered and three died.

 ...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:12:04 +0800 /articles/09/1027/195318/MTk1MzE4kieJLRZ2.html China's Ministry of Education voiced on Monday its support for the formation of C9, an academic conference comprising nine domestic prestigious universities and referred to as China's Ivy League by some experts.

Xu Mei, the ministry's spokeswoman, said the establishment of the conference is a "helpful attempt that is conducive to the country's construction of high-quality colleges, cultivation of top-notch innovative talents and enhanced cooperation and exchanges between Chinese universities and their foreign counterparts."

On October 12, nine institutions of higher learning including the elite Peking University and Tsinghua Univerisity signed cooperative agreements that featured flexible student exchange programs, deepened cooperation on the training of postgraduates, and establishment of a credit system that allows students to win credits through attending classes in member universities of C9.

Other universities are Z...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:26:53 +0800     HARBIN, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A seven-year-old boy in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province died of seasonal influenza and severe pneumonia Friday, local health authorities confirmed Saturday.

    The A/H1N1 strain was found in the flu viruses infected the first grader at Yingjun Primary School in Suihua City, a provincial health bureau official said.

    But it was not yet known if the A/H1N1 flu was the main cause for the boy's death.

    The A/H1N1 flu has earlier caused two deaths in the country -- an 18-year-old woman in Tibet who died on Oct. 4, and a 43-year-old woman who died on Oct. 16 in Tibet's neighboring province of Qinghai.

    The bronchial asthma patient was admitted to the Suihua No. 1 Hospital at about 8:30 a.m. Friday in the wake of asthma attacks on Thursday.

    He died at about 6 p.m. Friday ...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:12:14 +0800 /articles/09/1025/195139/MTk1MTM5ndYloBzH.html     HONG KONG, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A 14-year-old female who had tested positive for Influenza A/H1N1 died in Hong Kong Saturday, bringing the total number of A/H1N1-related deaths to 34 in the city, said the local Hospital Authority.

    The spokesperson of Tuen Mun Hospital said the patient with cerebral palsy was admitted to the isolation ward for treatment due to fever and cough on Oct. 7. She was confirmed to have been infected with the virus on the same day.

    Her condition became critical on Oct. 8 and she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and required ventilation support.

    The case was reported to Hospital Authority Head Office and Center for Health Protection.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:12:02 +0800 /articles/09/1025/195138/MTk1MTM4Cpo9JSJB.html     BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 30 percent of Hepatitis B patients in China do not stick to long-term medical treatment or take medicine less frequently than they should due to lack of money, according to a survey published here Friday.

    These patients skipped medicines at will, switched to cheaper drugs or even stopped treatment due to money concern. Also 42 percent of the respondents do not visit doctors regularly.

    The survey on Hepatitis B patients' treatment, jointly launched by the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control and the Chinese Society of Hepatology under the Chinese Medical Association in April, covered some ten thousand Hepatitis B patients in 21 provinces.

    Also the survey showed nearly 60 percent of respondents are not aware of the necessity of long-term antiviral treatments and 41 percent thought such treatment sho...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:11:34 +0800 /articles/09/1023/195028/MTk1MDI4LDmTicGw.html The private club in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, is open to people who run their own business, those with wealth, political pedigrees and leaders of college student unions and winners of campus singing or modeling contests.

Though they may be sexually active, single Chinese youths can find themselves cut off from the free consultations and assistance offered to their young but married counterparts.

"There is definitely a great need for that among China's more than 200 million young people aged 10 to 24, married and single alike," said Tang Kun, chairman of the China Youth Committee of the 5th Asian and Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights.

In China, single youths who are also sexually active are not well covered by government-sponsored sexual and reproductive health services like consultations, health checks and free contraceptives like condoms.

Meanwhile, young married couples can get free condoms from family planning clinics and at work places. Lifestyle Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:55:42 +0800 /articles/09/1019/194488/MTk0NDg4WTnMc2IP.html Hu said in the letter that energy resources are the basis and guarantee of the country's economic and social development.

As a key base for the country's education on the science and technology of energy resources, the university shoulders great responsibilities and has a bright future, Hu said.

Hu called upon the university to stick to the Scientific Outlook on Development and foster more talents to achieve more research fruits and contribute to the sound and fast development of the country.

In his reply to a letter from the university's new graduates who are working in the country's western regions, Premier Wen Jiabao encouraged them to devote themselves to the development of the regions where they work.

...]]> Lifestyle Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:18:12 +0800     XINING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- China has reported its second death of A/H1N1 influenza on Friday, according to a Health Ministry statement on its website.

    A 43-year-old woman, in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, died of A/H1N1 influenza at about 2:41 p.m. Friday at the provincial contagious disease hospital, local health authorities said.

    She was hospitalized on Tuesday for fever, coughing and sore throat, and became a confirmed case on Thursday, said Ma Rucun, director of the hospital.

    Qinghai had reported 791 cases of A/H1N1 influenza as of Friday afternoon, 669 patients have recovered.

    The average altitude of Qinghai Province is above 3,000 meters.Due to high altitude and low oxygen level, the treatment of A/H1N1patients is more difficult than that in other regions as the patients on the tableland are...]]> Lifestyle Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:12:47 +0800 /articles/09/1017/194379/MTk0Mzc5EleUutQR.html Primary schools in a city of Hubei province that have been offering VIP classes for extra tuition payments have been ordered to stop the classes and return the tuition, so as to ensure equal compulsory education for all, officials in the city said.

In Huangshi, an industrial city in central China's Hubei province, many primary schools had created two kinds of classes for students.

The fee for an "experimental class" is much higher than the cost for an ordinary class. These experimental classes cost from 4,000 yuan to 14,000 yuan ($2,050), China National Radio (CNR) reported.

In Zhongshan Primary School and Yanhulu Primary School, experimental classes have about 20 students, and are equipped with air conditioners, TV sets, water dispensers, newly painted walls and good-quality desks and chairs. These classes also have the best teachers, the report said.

The ordinary classes do not have all these luxuries, and they o...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:04:18 +0800 /articles/09/1013/193911/MTkzOTEx5HTA91GO.html "Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students. Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students," said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States.

    Children aged six or above who are Hong Kong residents and attending kindergartens or child care centers are also entitled to the subsidy covering seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, said Thomas Tsang, controller of the center.

    "The (subsidized vaccination) schemes are expected to reduce hospitalization rate, related complications and mortality as a result of the infections," he said.

    Parents may bring their eligible children to doctors who have enrolled in the scheme starting from October 19 this year until March 31 next year. The enrolled doctors will be reimbursed 80 HK dollars (10.3 U...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:13:33 +0800 /articles/09/1012/193697/MTkzNjk3uTuZRJWj.html     MACAO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Macao's Health Bureau announced on Friday that it will start inoculating local residents with A/H1N1 flu vaccines in January next year.

    Local medical staff and high-risk group, including children, old people and patients with chronic illness, will be firstly inoculated, according to the Bureau.

    The first batch of the vaccines ordered by the Bureau was expected to be delivered to Macao in November 2009. The Bureau has previously announced that it has ordered one million doses of these vaccines, and will encourage all local residents to be inoculated for free.

    Health authorities in the United States and Australia have already begun inoculating residents with A/H1N1 vaccines. The Bureau said that it will closely follow the situation in these countries, so as to assess the incidence rate of adverse pharmacological effects of thes...]]> Lifestyle Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:12:21 +0800 /articles/09/1012/193696/MTkzNjk2Y9MWT2BY.html     MACAO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- As part of the annual World Sight Day this year, Orbis Macao launched its "Action Blue" project which was aimed at raising awareness about visual impairment, the Macao Daily Post reported on Friday.

    Since the sky is blue and the sky gives unlimited hope to people, the non-profit group chose to use "blue" as the theme of its project, the daily quoted Vivian Lo Pou San, a spokeswoman of the Orbis Macao office as saying.

    Some seven local enterprises have signed up to participate in the project, and one of them will organize "blindfolded lunches" at local schools so that the children can experience the difficulty of eating their food without being able to see.

    Around 45 million people in the world are visually impaired, of which two thirds are women, according to the World Health Organization.

    ORBIS M...]]> Lifestyle Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:12:06 +0800 /articles/09/1012/193695/MTkzNjk13VqtikbX.html     BEIJING, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland is expected to see more serious and even fatal cases of the A/H1N1 virus as the weather cools and people return to work after the just-ended eight-day National Day holiday, a Health Ministry spokesman said Saturday.

    "China's situation is still rather grim," Deng Haihua, spokesman with the ministry, told a press conference.

    His words came just days after the mainland reported its first death from the disease, an 18-year-old woman in Maizhokunggar County, in Tibet's Lhasa City, who died on Oct. 4.

    The virus was spreading from the eastern and southern parts of the country to the west and the north, and from urban areas to the countryside, Deng said.

    "With people returning to their work places after the holiday, we are looking at a strong possibility of mass...]]> Lifestyle Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:11:32 +0800 /articles/09/1007/193247/MTkzMjQ3KFWVwhmI.html Lifestyle Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:41:38 +0800     BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 million people are attacked by animals every year on the Chinese mainland, based on the quantity of rabies vaccine used, according to a recent report on rabies's prevention and treatment.

    The report, issued by the Ministry of Health, attributed widespread injuries to the increasing number of cats and dogs raised in recent years.

    More than 2,400 lupomania cases were reported each year since 2004, the second highest in the world, next to India. Most cases took place in southern and eastern parts of the country, it said.

    About 60.85 percent of rabies cases were found in five provincial regions, namely Guangxi, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hunan and Sichuan, in the past five years.

    Regions with less rabies cases previously have also seen a rising number of cases. Central China's Henan Province ha...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:11:39 +0800 /articles/09/1007/193239/MTkzMjM5pnhnTcP9.html     HONG KONG, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A 52-year-old man who tested positive for the A/H1N1 influenza died Sunday in Hong Kong, bringing the death toll of the disease in the city to 28, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority announced Monday.

    The man, who was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and hypertension, developed flu symptoms on Sept. 25 and attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Kwong Wah Hospital on Sept. 29. The patient was admitted for clinical treatment.

    Positive result of HSI was confirmed on the same day and he was prescribed with Tamiflu and antibiotics.

    The condition of the patient deteriorated on Sept. 30 and he died Sunday.

    The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:11:15 +0800 /articles/09/1007/193238/MTkzMjM48Qzc6mXI.html     LHASA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has reported its first death of A/H1N1 influenza on Tuesday, according to a Health Ministry statement on its website.

    An 18-year-old woman in Maizhokunggar County, Lhasa City died of the A/H1N1 virus at about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday at the county hospital. She was taken to the hospital on Saturday for coughing, sore throat and muscular stiffness. Her body temperature was as high as 40 degrees, a Tibetan regional health department official said Tuesday.

    The case has been confirmed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, he said.

    The Health Ministry sent 200,000 doses of vaccine to Lhasa by air on Tuesday to help contain the virus from spreading in the region. More vaccines will be sent to the western and plateau provinces soon.

    The national capital Beijing reported its first A/H...]]> Lifestyle Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:10:53 +0800     by Xinhua writers Tian Ying and Fu Shuangqi

    BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Yao Pei, a high school headmaster, was not in the mood to enjoy the eight-day National Day vacation.

    Before the vacation, he attended several meetings held by the local education department.

    "They warned us of potential A/H1N1 influenza outbreaks among students when they come back from the holiday," said the schoolmaster based in Taiyuan, capital of northern Shanxi Province.

    This year's National Day holiday concurs with Chinese traditional Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on October 3. This brings Chinese an eight-day break, from Oct. 1 to 8, the longest public vacation.

    Also, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China. Various celebrations are staged during the holidays.

&nbs...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:12:36 +0800 /articles/09/1003/192991/MTkyOTkxi2NyblCE.html     JINAN, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The eight-day-long National Day holiday was canceled in some Chinese high schools for fear of further A/H1N1 influenza outbreaks.

    The decision was first announced in the Shandong University in east China, which posted a notice on its website on September 21, restricting students holidays to only October 1 and 4 (Sunday) and the afternoon of October 3 (Saturday).

    The notice cited the reason as an outbreak of A/H1N1, as medical experts had warned that a week after the holiday would see a peak of A/H1N1 outbreaks.

    Following suit were Shandong Normal University, Shandong Economic University, Shandong Institute of Light Industry, Shandong Jianzhu University, as well as some other colleges in northern parts of China like Shandong and Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Shaanxi.

    "The holiday is long and students woul...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:13:21 +0800 /articles/09/1003/192990/MTkyOTkwp1Ne9Cxa.html     SHANGHAI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- An A/H1N1 test kit invented by Chinese scientists has been approved for mass-production, said a project spokesman on Friday.

    The kit will be mass-produced by Shanghai Hai-tai Jinxin Biological Molecular Diagnostic Kit Corporation and distributed to military hospitals and disease control and prevention centers (CDCs) across China, said Wang Shenqi, head of the project and a researcher of China Military Medical Science Institute.

    Early treatment is the key to cure A/H1N1 flu and the test kit can help diagnose patients who are in latent period even though they show no symptoms at all, Wang said. "By testing the patient's saliva, the kit can diagnose A/H1N1 flu within two hours."

    It can help contain the spread of the flu among high risk groups and save medical costs by early diagnosis, Wang said.

Special Report: ...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:12:48 +0800     TAIPEI, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan Wednesday reported seven new patients suffering from A/H1N1 influenza had been sent to hospital, bringing the island's serious cases total to 305, local epidemic control authorities said.

    So far, the virus has claimed 18 lives on the island, and 257 people have been discharged from hospital, the authorities said.

    Yang Zhiliang, head of Taiwan's health authority, said Wednesday the locally produced A/H1N1 flu vaccines were still undergoing trials.

    An inoculation program of 15 million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccines was scheduled to be launched in November and the vaccines would be offered to the public free, he said.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:12:20 +0800     BEIJING, Sept. 27 -- China has conducted its second phase of clinical trials of a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. This is the first time experts are assessing the safety and efficiency of the vaccine in high-risk groups.

    More than 230 volunteers took part in this second phase in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Scientists are expected to decide, based on results, whether to go ahead with a third phase of trials.

    If a third phase is carried out, it will evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness on a large number of people.

    China started research on a vaccine for the AIDS virus in 1996.

    (Source: CCTV.com)

    BEIJING, Sept. 25 -- The Health Ministry released guidelines to regulate A/H1N1 flu vaccinations across the country through Autumn and Winter.

    The guidelines indicate who should receive the vaccine injection first. Risk groups like students, and workers in the service industry are the top priority. Highly-infectious regions with large and floating populations are also considered for early vaccination.

    All vaccinations are free to the public. The ministry has also urged a timely response system to monitor and report any sickness from the vaccine. Once such cases occur, the inoculations must stop.

    Meanwhile, epidemic control experts said one person sh...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:12:11 +0800 /articles/09/0927/192341/MTkyMzQx2MThVZXc.html     TAIPEI, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- A six-month-old male baby in Taiwan has been infected with the A/H1N1 influenza and was admitted into hospital, becoming the youngest among all hospitalized flu patients on the island, the local health authority said Friday.

    Another four flu victims on the island have also been sent to hospital, bringing the total number of hospitalized cases to 292, among whom 17 died, 36 remained there and the rest were out of hospital.

    An inoculation program of 15 million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccines were scheduled to be launched in November, local media quoted the island's health authority as saying.

    Starting from Oct. 1, nearly 3 million doses of seasonal flu vaccines would also be offered for free to the public, the health authority said.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:11:43 +0800 /articles/09/0927/192340/MTkyMzQwCyheE62q.html     HONG KONG, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- New indicators will be used to monitor the spread of influenza A/H1N1 in Hong Kong, Center for Health Protection Controller Thomas Tsang said on Friday, adding that tests for the new flu will only be conducted on patients with special medical conditions.

    Speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon, Tsang said as influenza A/H1N1 has become widespread in Hong Kong and it is the right time to adjust the government's monitoring strategies.

    Noting the number of newly confirmed cases cannot fully reflect the real situation, he said three new indicators will be used to assess the situation. They include: the percentage testing positive to A/H1N1 flu at designated flu clinics; flu surveillance at designated flu clinics; influenza-like illness surveillance among sentinel private doctors.

    From Sept. 28 the center will no...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:11:19 +0800 /articles/09/0927/192339/MTkyMzM5A0QzXRik.html     BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland confirmed 1,387 new cases of the A/H1N1 influenza in the 48 hours ending 3 p.m. Friday, bringing the total number to 15,968, according to the Ministry of Health.

    Of the new cases, only six were "imported cases," while the rest were all infected on the Chinese mainland, the ministry said Friday.

    So far, no deaths from A/H1N1 virus have been reported on the Chinese mainland, but Taiwan has reported 17 deaths, of whom two were pregnant women.

    China issued a warrant for mass inoculation of A/H1N1 flu vaccine on Sept. 8 after it approved vaccines produced by several domestic pharmaceutical companies including Sinovac and Hualan days earlier.

    Beijing has been leading the country in inoculation. About 39,000 residents in the city had been inoculated by Tuesd...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:10:51 +0800 /articles/09/0921/191632/MTkxNjMyViRyKnll.html     MACAO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Macao reported 43 newly confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1 on Sunday, bringing the cumulative number of such cases to 2,348 so far.

    The newly confirmed cases comprised 23 male patients and 20 female patients, whose ages ranged from eight months to 51, Macao's Health Bureau said.

    According to the statistics from the Bureau, some 14 patients who tested positive for the virus were still receiving medical treatments at local hospitals to date, but their health conditions, except for three seriously ill patients, remained stable.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:10:19 +0800 /articles/09/0919/191541/MTkxNTQxySkSV0mL.html     BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security has vowed to crack down on rumormonger and people producing and selling fake drugs to ensure social order in the country's fight against A/H1N1 influenza.

    Police bureaus should strike hard on rumormongers, people producing and selling counterfeit drugs, medical apparatus or personal protective equipment, and those who drive up drug prices, the ministry said in a circular on its website Friday.

    Police should strengthen patrol on crowded public venues, and duly settle disputes and handle illegal activities that infringed on rights of medical personnel and disrupted hospital order, it said.

    The total number of confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza on the Chinese mainland had reached 11,722 as of 3 p.m. Friday, figures from the Ministry of Health showed.

    All t...]]> Lifestyle Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:11:11 +0800 [1] [2] [3] [4]

    After five months' scientific research, the effectiveness of TCM on A/H1N1 flu patients had been proved in clinical tests, said the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

    The city has reserved 2 million TCM doses to fight against the flu.

    "The Beijing municipal government has invested 10 million yuan (1.4 million U.S. dollars) to test the effectiveness and safety of TCM to treat A/H1N1 flu since May," said Zhao Jing, head of Beijing Administration of TCM.

    Zhao said as of Sept. 1, 326 of 845 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in Beijing had been cured with TCM treatments.

    "It has proved very effective to use TCM and a combinatio...]]> Lifestyle Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:11:06 +0800 /articles/09/0919/191521/MTkxNTIxBgrW9uoX.html     MACAO, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Macao reported 142 newly confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1 on Wednesday, bringing the cumulative number of such cases to 2,083.

    The newly confirmed cases comprised of 69 female patients and 73 male patients whose ages ranged from nine months to 79, Macao's Health Bureau said.

    According to the statistics from the Bureau, some eight patients who tested positive for the virus were still receiving medical treatments at local hospitals to date, and their health conditions, except for three seriously-ill patients, remained stable.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:10:45 +0800 /articles/09/0919/191520/MTkxNTIwqRgnaxMq.html     BEIJING, Sept. 17 -- The public should be better educated on the definition of brain death in a bid to ease the nation's shortage of organ donors, said Chen Zhonghua, a professor at Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, Hubei province.

A boy opens his eyes for the first time after a successful cornea transplant in Xingtai, Hebei province..(Photo:Chinadaily.com.cn)Photo Gallery>>>

    The Ministry of Health released guidelines for the clinical procedures and practice surrounding brain dead patients in 2003 but the public still remains largely unaware, he said.

    As many as 300 people were declared brain dead by medics last year. Only organs from 70 of them were used to help those awaiting transplants, official statistics show.

    Ministry rules define death in two ways: cardiac death, when the heart stops beating, and brain d...]]> Lifestyle Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:10:27 +0800 /articles/09/0919/191519/MTkxNTE5ieA0fc1F.html     HONG KONG, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong reported 776 newly confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 in the 24 hours up to 02:30 p.m. on Thursday, bringing the number of the city's cumulative cases to 20,140, local health authorities said.

    The new cases involved 394 males and 382 females, aged between six months and 73 years, said the Department of Health of Hong Kong.

    Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said currently a total of 173 confirmed patients are staying in public hospitals for treatment. Among them, 157 are in stable condition, nine in serious and seven in critical condition.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:10:13 +0800 /articles/09/0919/191518/MTkxNTE4RL2XZfgw.html     MACAO, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Macao reported 104 newly confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1 on Thursday, bringing the cumulative number of such cases to 2,187 so far.

    The newly confirmed cases comprised 49 female patients and 55 male patients whose ages ranged from eight months to 58, Macao's Health Bureau said. Some of the cases were found at classes of three local schools and the Bureau has ordered these classes to b esuspended.

    According to the statistics from the Bureau, some 17 patients who tested positive for the virus were still receiving medical treatments at local hospitals to date, and their health conditions, except for three seriously-ill patients, remained stable.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu  ]]> Lifestyle Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:10:02 +0800