ProMed on 400 students in China

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There are certain things that I have learned to look for on ProMed when
a RFI comes in to their site.  The biggest one is what other
ProMed reports do they link to at the end of the article.  In this
case they link to nothing but AI reports. To me that says, they think
the 400 students had Bird Flu or a dirivative of same.  H2H Big
Time!

UNDIAGNOSED FEBRILE ILLNESS - CHINA: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

[1]
Date: Sun 2 Apr 2006
From: Alfonso Rodriguez <ajrm_msds@yahoo.es>
Source: Forbes.com News, 2 Apr 2006 [edited]
<http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2006/04/02/afx2640033.html>

400 Chinese students hospitalized with unknown flu
-----------------------------------------------
Over 400 students at a university in central China's Henan province were 
hospitalized with high fever linked to an unknown flu virus, state press 
and a school official said.

The outbreak began on 26 Mar 2006 when 22 students were hospitalized with 
high fever, Xinhua news agency said. The next day, the number of sick 
students at the Henan University of Science and Technology, in Luoyang 
city, rose to 88, and on 28 Mar 2006, there were 208 sick students in the 
university's infirmary, it said. "There were over 400 students that became 
feverish with the flu," a university official who declined to be named told 
Agence France-Presse when contacted by phone.

He refused to detail what type of flu it was or how the outbreak had 
succeeded in infecting so many students.

Local health officials were currently trying to identify the flu strain, 
Xinhua said. The temperatures of some of the students reached 39.6 C, it 
said. The sick students were quarantined, while school officials, under 
directions from provincial health authorities, cancelled classes and began 
disinfecting the university's 2000 dormitory rooms, dining halls and 
classrooms, it said. Most students were only hospitalized for about 3 days 
and released, the report said, adding that only several dozen students 
remained hospitalized as of today [2 Apr 2006].

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

******
[2]
Date: Tue 4 Apr 2006
From: Ryan McGinnis <digicana@gmail.com>
Source: Interfax, 3 Apr 2006 [edited]
<http://www.interfax.cn/showfeature.asp?aid=11707&slug=birdflu>

Henan authorities refuse to reveal cause of university flu outbreak
-----------------------------------------------
The Henan Department of Health has refused to reveal the cause of a 
flu-like outbreak that has infected 400 students at a university in the 
province.

Students at Henan University of Science and Technology, in Luoyang city, 
started to become ill on 26 Mar 2006, many needing hospital treatment, as 
many as 400 according to state media.

The Henan Department of Health said laboratory tests showed the infection 
is not type A or type B influenza. Interfax asked vice director of the 
disease control and prevention division of the Henan Department of Health, 
Shan Xinguo, why so many students contracted the disease at the same time, 
but he declined to give any details. He said, "What I can say is the 
infection is now under control, and we can't give any further information."

Shan Xinguo said the students had contracted upper respiratory tract 
infections. He said, "It's normal for students to have upper respiratory 
tract infections, especially in spring. And at colleges, students are 
concentrated, so it's easy for many students to become infected with the 
disease at the same period of time."

Another official from the Henan Department of Health, who declined to be 
named, said the situation is now under control, and the fever was starting 
to pass. "The reason why so many students developed fever continuously 
still remains unclear," she said. "We are still investigating the matter, 
but we are sure the students are not victims of an epidemic influenza 
infection." She said the main symptoms of the sick students were fever and 
joint pains and that most recovered one or 2 days after medial treatment.

Shan Xinguo said the ill students had been quarantined and treated. Over 
2000 dormitories as well as 130 classrooms are now being sanitized twice a 
day. As of 2 Apr 2006, 10 students were still in hospital for clinical 
observation.

--
Ryan McGinnis
Nebraska, United States
<digicana@gmail.com>

******
[3]
Date: Mon 4 Apr 2006
From: Pablo Nart <PABLO.NART@terra.es>
Source: Gulfnews.com, 4 Apr 2006 [edited]
<http://www.gulfnews.com/world/China/10030454.html>

Some 400 students at a university in central China have come down with a 
mystery fever, and the cause was under investigation, state media said 
yesterday [3 Apr 2006].

The 1st case was reported on 26 Mar 2006, when 22 students at the Henan 
University of Science and Technology in the city of Luoyang fell ill, the 
official Xinhua News Agency said on its website.

"The situation has been effectively controlled," Xinhua said. "After one or 
2 days of treatment, they regained their health."

Lab tests have ruled out the possibility of an outbreak of influenza, it 
said, and the health officials were still trying to determine what the 
sickness was and what had caused it. Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a spokeswoman for 
the Beijing office of the World Health Organisation, said a letter had been 
sent to the Health Ministry asking for more information.

One student's fever reached 39.6 C, it said. Several others also suffered 
from aching bones, it said.

The students were quarantined and treated, and the surrounding dormitories 
and classrooms were disinfected, the report said.

--
Pablo Nart
<PABLO.NART@terra.es>

[Laboratory confirmatory data are pending. A sudden occurrence of massive 
feverish contagious disease in a cluster of patients at this time of the 
year -- the end of winter and the beginning of spring -- is quite 
mysterious. As clinical information is largely deficient, any speculation 
at this moment is futile.

ProMED-mail welcomes information from knowledgeable sources. Maps of the 
affected site (Henan province) in China can be accessed at:
<http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/henan/index.htm>,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:China-Henan.png>.

For a map of Luoyang city, where the 400 sick students of the Henan 
University of Science and Technology were, see:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ChinaHenanLuoyang.png>.
  - Mod.RY]

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