The Ministry of Health began monitoring dengue fever cases
across the country yesterday, after the infection of a Hong Kong
woman by the mosquito-borne disease was confirmed Thursday.
Dengue fever is listed as one of 13 infectious diseases that
require a nationwide inspection by the ministry.
Deng Haihua, director of the ministry's Information Office, said
"the move is to ensure updated prevention and control of the
infectious disease."
Supervision is being carried out at 16 state-level monitoring
stations in five regions including south China's Guangdong,
Hainan
and Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, east China's Fujian
and southwest China's Yunnan
Province.
Last month, seven dengue fever cases were found on the Chinese
mainland, and one person died.
Dengue fever has become a major international public health
concern in recent years.
No vaccine is available for dengue fever, and the infection does
not spread directly from person to person, the ministry said.
This renewed monitoring comes after a 19-year-old Hong Kong
woman was stricken with dengue fever and hospitalized this week,
the 12th dengue case in the special administrative region this
year.
The woman traveled to the Philippines on August 4 and came back
on August 9, the Center for Health Protection of the Department of
Health of Hong Kong
said while confirming the imported case.
She is now in a stable condition after suffering from symptoms
of fever, cold and rashes on August 10.
In neighboring Guangdong, fears that the disease was brought
from Hong Kong were eased yesterday.
"No dengue fever case has been reported in Guangdong so far,"
said Zou Qin, director of the province's Center for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The provincial government will do its best to prevent the
disease from breaking out, he said.
"The monitoring measures on the disease will be implemented in
major cities including Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Shantou and
Zhanjiang," Zou added.
Outbreaks of the disease occurred in Fujian in 1999 and in Zhejiang
in 2004, with a small number of cases occurring in other places in
the country.
(China Daily August 20, 2005)