流感肆虐中国 专家称尚不能和Sars比肩

Flu outbreaks are up across China compared with previous years, but the epidemic remains at normal levels and is much less severe than the Sars outbreak, an official from Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.

北京疾控中心的一名官员称，这次肆虐中国的流感仍处于正常水平，尚不能同SARS比肩。

"It is irrelevant to compare flu outbreaks with Sars, as the two diseases are different in many respects," said deputy director He Xiong of the Beijing CDC, who participated in the central government’s efforts to fight Sars in 2003.

参加过2003年Sars防治的北京疾控中心副主任何雄称，此次流感和Sars一点儿关系都没有，两个疾病完全不同。

"Although Sars is not strongly infectious, it caused panic because it was an entirely new disease unknown to humans then, and there were no effective means of treatment for the disease," he said.

他称，尽管Sars有很强的传播性，但是他引起恐慌是因为这是一新型疾病，没有任何有效措施治愈。

People have known about the flu for many years, and its consequences are not as deadly as Sars, Mr He said. "Rather, it targets those with chronic diseases mostly and can worsen their conditions."

他称，而对于流感，大家已经接触了好多年，他致病后，也不会像Sars那样致命。身患慢性疾病的人容易中招流感，而且还有加重自身病情。

The recent flu epidemic has caused panic, with some linking it to Sars in 2003, which caused more than 300 deaths on the Chinese mainland, according to media reports.

最近的流感爆发已经招致恐慌，甚至还把其和2003年Sars相提并论，据媒体报道，Sars一共导致大陆300人死亡。

China has entered the peak of flu season, and the number of outbreaks has been significantly higher than the average for the past few years, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

根据国家卫计委，中国已经进入流感高发季节，流感感染人数明显高于往年平均水平。

However, surveillance has not found virus mutations that can affect the spread and severity of the disease, and the flu epidemic remains at predicted levels, the authority said.

不过，官方称，监测并未发现导致流感蔓延，或者致命的病毒突变，而且流感疫情仍在可预测的范围内。

In Beijing, 5,298 flu cases were reported between Dec 18 and 24, a rise of more than 80 per cent on the previous week, according to the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission.

根据北京卫计委，在北京，12月18号到24号，共报5928起流感兵例，比前一星期，上涨了80%。

The Beijing CDC has called on parents to take precautionary measures to prevent themselves and their children getting the flu, including hand-washing, avoiding crowded places, and eating a balanced diet.

北京卫计委已经呼吁家长采取预防措施来，防治自己和他们的孩子感染流感病毒，包括勤洗手，避免到人多地方，和平衡的饮食结构。

In addition to a healthy lifestyle, vaccination is an effective way of preventing most flu, Mr He said.

何先生说，除了健康的生活方式，接种疫苗是预防大部分流感的有效方法。