Influenza A(H1N1)
Timeline
- 25 April, 2009, a novel strain of influenza virus was found in Mexico. China announced information on the pandemic for the first time.
- 11 May, 2009, China announced first confirmed case of A(H1N1).
- 11 June, 2009, WHO raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. China identified the first local case.
- 8 September, 2009, China became the first country in the world where pandemic vaccine was available.
- 4 October, 2009, China announced the first death case.
- 1 November, 2009, China announced that different regions would be expected to reach their epidemiological peak in succession 7.
- 8 April, 2010, Ministry of Health China stopped releasing the Weekly Surveillance Report on A(H1N1).
- 10 August, 2010, WHO announced the end of the pandemic.
Key facts
- According to Ministry of Health, as of August 10, 2010, China reported 128,033 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 805 deaths.
- Pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 is in the list of category B of notifiable diseases to be reported according to the Law of Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control of China.
- Pandemic influenza A(H1N1) was listed as a quarantinable disease from 30 April to 10 July, 2009.
- A vaccine was approved by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on 23 August 2009. In September 2009, China was the first country to start vaccinations. By August 2010, more than 100 million doses vaccines had been administered.
- The pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 virus has become a seasonal virus. WHO recommended using the following nomenclature: A(H1N1)pdm09.
Measures taken
- China established an inter-ministerial command and coordination mechanism during the pandemic. This command and coordination mechanism was led by Ministry of Health and joined by 38 departments.
- Enhanced surveillance was taken during the pandemic. Influenza A(H1N1) was listed as a notifiable and quarantine disease. Border entry screening, case isolation and close contacts tracing were conducted at the beginning of the pandemic.
- The influenza surveillance system was expended to more than 400 laboratories and more than 500 sentinel hospitals.
- China was the first country to conduct mass immunization.
- Three surveillance systems were set up. They were 1) a vaccine supply and distribution information system, 2) a case-based vaccine immunization information system, 3) a case-based AEFI (adverse events following immunization) surveillance system.
- The China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was able to conduct cross seroprevalence surveys in 11 provinces to monitor the extent of virus infection in the general population.