A news ( http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=38317) citing a serious influenza outbreak in shenzhen, China is not true. F.I.C have contacted the surveillance department of Shenzhen CDC, currently they receive no clinical specimen from the local hospitals for influenza virus isolation. the ´rush to hospital´ situation maybe due to the dramatic temperature change and doctors shifts during the ´Golden week holiday´ in May. The original news from the local media cited many people have ´common cold´ instead of ´influenza´ (it´s easy to mistake the cold with influenza in Chinese, see http://www.flu.org.cn/news/20041018312.htm )

Chen Xiaowen, the lab expert in Shenzhen CDC told F.I.C that only 9 isolates of influenza were collected from April-May this year compared to 23 last year (see http://www.flu.org.cn/news/20054296785.htm) . and H1 seems to the the dominant strain. And no report of large scale of influenza outbreak were reported to the local authority so far. Chen said her lab used RT-PCR together with cell culture as diagnostic method.

Flu cases last month were down 51.6 percent compared to same period last year with 5,925 reported cases. However, some flu epidemic have broke out in primary and middle schools in southern China this year, where more preventive measures need to be taken, said the Ministry of Health.

large influenza outbreak in Shenzhen, China(Not)