Chinese unprepared for flu, unaware of risks: survey

Many Chinese have little knowledge of the risks of influenza and a poor sense of prevention, a survey conducted by the Chinese Health Education Association has shown.

About 60 percent of people polled in seven big cities thought the flu was the same as a cold, and 90 percent said self-protection measures were unnecessary when family members had a fever.

Most people continued going to work and school when they had flu-like symptoms like a cough and fever. Nearly 70 percent considered going to hospital after two or three days of high fever.

Food and dinnerware were still shared among family members when someone developed flu-like symptoms, revealed the survey of 2,160 people in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Only eight percent believed flu was a "serious infectious disease", and 72 percent did not know it was compulsory to report the disease in China.

Common answers on preventive measures included dressing warmly, regular exercise, a healthy diet, good ventilation and taking preventive medicine, but few mentioned getting inoculations.

The flu vaccine was the most economical prevention method at a cost of 100 to 200 yuan (12.5 to 25 U.S. dollars), as hospital treatment cost 3,500 to 5,000 yuan (437.5 to 625 U.S. dollars), according to the association.

The best time for inoculation was September to November, and the elderly and children were the key inoculation groups, said Tang Yaowu, a doctor in the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Many people were reluctant to get inoculations because they thought it was troublesome and the vaccine might be unsafe, according to research by Sanofi Pasteur, a major provider of flu vaccines to China.

The company also polled 49 foreign and domestic companies on flu preparedness, finding more than 60 percent of foreign companies in big cities had made or were drawing up response plans, while only 20 percent of domestic companies had considered plans.

About 75 percent foreign companies had trained staff on flu prevention, but the figure for domestic companies was only 37 percent.

Experts have warned of more flu outbreaks this year and bird flu could break out again with other flu strains during winter and spring.

No major flu outbreaks had occurred in China in recent years, but localised outbreaks happened constantly in some areas, said Zeng Guang with the national CDC.

Ministry of Health figures showed a 13-percent rise in the flu incidence rate in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.

The government is preparing 23 million to 25 million doses of flu vaccine for this year, 20 percent more than last year, according to the China Preventive Medicine Association.

Source: Xinhua