Guangdong school closed as 30 pupils get H1N1

(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-22 14:13

Local authorities in south China's Guangdong Province decided to close a primary school after thirty pupils there were confirmed Sunday to be infected with A (H1N1) flu.

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Twenty-four students in Shipai Township Central Primary School in Dongguan City fell ill on Thursday and Friday. They were confirmed as A (H1N1) flu cases Sunday, the provincial health department said Sunday.

Previously, another six pupil from the same class developed fever, cough and a sore throat Wednesday. They were confirmed as A (H1N1) flu cases Friday.

All the students were in stable conditions as their illness was mild, doctors said.

The school, with a total of 1,314 students, had been disinfected. The school will be closed for a week, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Doctors were checking where the pupils were infected by the virus.

Those who had close contact with the pupils have been ordered to stay at home for observation, the Dongguan city government said.

The students had not left Dongguan for 10 days before they caught the flu, and there were no such flu case in the city earlier. Guangdong, however, had confirmed 111 A (H1N1) flu cases by Sunday, the largest number among mainland regions.

A total of 58 new cases were confirmed across the Chinese mainland on Sunday, bringing the total number to 414, according to the Ministry of Health.