Local authorities in north China have announced new measures to check the spread of flu after a sharp rise in the number of cases.

The number of flu cases in Tianjin Municipality has risen by 13.8 percent year on year, the municipal disease prevention authority said yesterday.

The municipal health bureau has ordered local schools and kindergartens to check the temperature of all students daily, and hospitals have been told to prevent cross-infection among patients.

The disease prevention authority in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, has ordered hospitals to report flu cases on a daily basis and remain on high alert to group infections. Construction sites, too, have been told to conduct regular checks on migrants.

The health authority in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has urged its disease prevention offices to provide prompt information to the press and keep the public informed of any major development.

"Although flu attacks are common in these northern cities, the chances of a large-scale flu outbreak in the near future are low," Ministry of Health spokesman Mao Qun'an said.

"The deadly H5N1 virus is not the cause of all types of flu," He Xiong, deputy director of Beijing Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, said.

A sharp drop in temperature and the poor air quality in north China are responsible for the rise in flu cases. The reluctance of people to pay for anti-flu vaccinations has worsened the situation. The cost of an anti-flu jab for an adult in Beijing is 69 yuan ($8.85), a price deemed out of reach of low-income earners.

Health experts have advised people not to go to crowded areas, a challenge in China's densely populated cities.

(China Daily January 12, 2007)