Health authorities Thursday called on medical service providers and residents to take all possible measures to prevent influenza this autumn and winter which may also see the return of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The Ministry of Health issued guidelines Thursday, urging the country's health systems and people to make more efforts in preventing influenza especially by taking vaccines, said the ministry's press office.

On October 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) will issue its annual recommendations for the composition of influenza vaccines effective against the virus strains currently circulating in human populations, said a document issued by the WHO on its website.

The recent global outbreak of SARS has raised concerns about the occurrence of respiratory diseases having symptoms similar to those seen with SARS.

As the recurrence of SARS during the influenza season cannot be ruled out, health authorities are concerned that cases of influenza and other respiratory diseases, particularly when they occur as clusters in healthcare facilities, could raise suspicions of SARS.

Meanwhile, the WHO will cooperate with the Ministry of Health in launching a new SARS surveillance system in more than 10 hospitals in Beijing, and Guangdong and Shanxi provinces, according to Maria Cheng, the WHO spokeswoman in Beijing.

The ministry confirmed on Wednesday that no SARS case has appeared on China's mainland since August 16 when the last two SARS patients were discharged from hospital in Beijing.

In another development, starting this month, all the fever patients in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, are required to be isolated in hospitals or at home for further observation for no less than a week.

The move aims to prevent SARS from spreading in the city during the coming peak period of flu and other respiratory tract diseases, Vice-Mayor of Guangzhou Li Zhuobin said Thursday.

(China Daily September 5, 2003)