Primary school closed after 6 pupils infected with flu

A primary school in south China's Guangdong Province have been shut down after six first-form pupils were diagnosed with the A(H1N1) flu Friday, local government said Saturday.

The local authorities gave no timetable for re-opening the Shipai Township Central Primary School in Dongguan City.
The three boys and three girls, aged from seven to eight and from the same class, developed fever, cough and a sore throat Wednesday. They were confirmed as A(H1N1) flu cases Friday.

The pupils were in stable conditions as their illness was mild, doctors said.

Local health authorities said Saturday they have disinfected the school and were checking where the pupils were infected by the virus.

The students had not left Dongguan for 10 days before they caught the flu, and there were earlier no such flu cases in the city. Guangdong, however, had confirmed 73 A(H1N1) flu cases by Friday, the largest number among mainland regions.

Those who had close contact with the pupils have been ordered to stay at home for observation, the Dongguan city government said.

Yu Dewen, Guangdong provincial health bureau spokesman, said there will surely be outbreaks of A(H1N1) flu in communities in China. "Our efforts aim to slow the process," he said.

China confirmed 31 new A(H1N1) flu cases Friday, bringing the total on the mainland to 328, the Ministry of Health said in a statement late Friday. There have so far been no fatalities.