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No flu sign on quarantined passengers so far
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-04 11:24 Enhanced Surveillance, Communication While strengthening body temperature monitoring and health condition registration at customs and airports, the country has also beefed up surveillance at medical facilities and would immediately report and treat suspected cases, he said in an interview with Xinhua on Sunday. Due to the high risk of a pandemic caused by the A/H1N1 virus, the WHO has raised the alert level to Phase 5 and said there was still the possibility to adjust it to the highest level -- Phase 6. Mao promised China would enhance communication with the WHO and relevant countries, closely follow the latest development of the epidemic and its control work, and take effective measures to ensure public health security in the country. China has developed its own method of making quick tests for the A/H1N1 virus by analyzing nucleic acid, which takes just 12 hours. The China CDC is training staff from epidemic monitoring stations across the country to do the nucleic acid test, and the reagent will be distributed to all 84 stations, said Mao. The China CDC obtained the sequence of the A/H1N1 virus from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on April 27 and the primer for making nucleic acid tests from WHO on April 28. Chartered Flight to Mexico Cancelled The government has promised to send a chartered flight to pick up 120 or so stranded Chinese citizens in Mexico, but the flight operator China Southern Airlines (CSA) said Sunday night that it was cancelled. "Normal flight CZ327 has left for Los Angeles Sunday night, but it would not fly to lift the Chinese nationals in Mexico as earlier planned," the center of the influenza A/H1N1 outbreak, the CSA said. The Guangzhou-based airline added that it was fully prepared for the charter mission, but it was up to the government as to if and when to implement it.
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