Health authorities in south China's Guangdong Province are working overtime to monitor a current influenza outbreak after all kindergartens, childcare centers and primary schools in neighboring Hong Kong were closed yesterday amid a seasonal outbreak.

The Hong Kong education bureau announced late on Wednesday a two-week suspension of classes in a bid to prevent the spread of flu after four recent child deaths.

It also emerged on Wednesday night that a 21-month-old toddler had succumbed to flu in Hong Kong late last month.

With people flowing frequently between Hong Kong and Guangdong "we will intensify our supervision," said Guangdong Provincial Health Bureau yesterday in a statement. "However, there is no need to panic now," it said.

According to the provincial health bureau, five flu outbreaks had been recorded in the province, two in Guangzhou, plus one in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shaoguan.

"Although it is a little bit higher compared to the same period last year, it is still in a low range on average," the statement said.

"We will send experts to Hong Kong in the coming days to team up with Hong Kong health authorities to jointly prevent the flu outbreak."

In neighboring Shenzhen, the local health authority affirmed there was no reason for panic yesterday. "There is no sign of flu outbreak in Shenzhen and no emergency scheme is needed," they said.

"Our residents need not feel panic. The government will not start the emergency scheme for this incident and there are no plans to suspend the classes of primary and middle schools in the city," said Zhang Dan, deputy director of the Shenzhen health bureau said yesterday in a press briefing.

The influenza viruses detected in Shenzhen were type B, less serious than the type A strain found in Hong Kong.

Ma Hanwu, deputy director of Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the number of flu patients had increased by 20 percent this year, but was still lower than the five-year average.

(China Daily March 14, 2008)