The Ministry of Health has asked hospitals to file written reports on pneumonia cases in an attempt to ensure early identification of bird flu and other infectious diseases.
Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said there had been no human cases linked to the latest bird flu outbreak among birds in Qinghai. But he said surveillance of pneumonia cases with unknown causes was crucial for the monitoring of human bird flu outbreaks.
Several human bird flu patients have died because of delayed diagnosis despite showing pneumonia symptoms.
Mr Mao said he was not aware of comments made by a World Health Organisation official that there were deficiencies in the measures put in place by China and Indonesia for handling bird flu. He said the ministry had repeatedly warned local officials to stay alert, especially because human bird flu cases were usually sporadic.
Separately, Mr Mao said there was still a shortage of nurses in China, although the total number had increased by 42,000 to 1.35 million by the end of last year. He said the number fell short of the target ratio of 10 beds to every four nurses, but he did not disclose the current ratio.
Meanwhile, the ministry also announced yesterday that a total of 1,293 people suffered from food poisoning last month, with 30 fatalities recorded. The number of cases was up 37 per cent on the same month last year and the death toll was up 66 per cent. The ministry said 205 people were killed by tuberculosis last month and 177 killed by rabies.
