A NEW wave of flu outbreaks may occur in China in March, but it will be not as serious as the one that hit many parts of the country earlier this winter, an official from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Judging from past experience, smaller peaks of the flu are likely next month, triggered by the change of seasons and heavy population flows after the Spring Festival holiday, Dong Xiaoping, director of the CDC’s global public health center, said at a news conference.

“However, it is almost certain the next peak will be smaller than the first,” he said.

Mass population migrations — mainly migrant workers going back to their city jobs after the holiday, coupled with students going back to school after the winter vacation — are expected next month, and disease control centers across China are closely monitoring for viruses to forestall major outbreaks, Dong said.

“The National Health and Family Planning Commission and related authorities have made preparations,” he said. “Flu outbreaks in China will continue, but it is not possible for them to develop into a major epidemic.”

China was hit by its worst flu epidemic in recent years this winter, and respiratory departments at major hospitals in many cities found themselves short staffed. More than 273,000 cases were reported in January on the Chinese mainland, including 56 deaths, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The number of reported flu cases on the Chinese mainland in January last year was a little over 30,000.

The commission had said that the peak season would last until the end of January, when school vacations began. Wang Hesheng, vice-minister in charge of the commission, said earlier this month that the intensity of the flu has declined across China.

(China Daily)