Beijing reports 5 A/H1N1 flu deaths, outbreak unlikely

Another two A/H1N1 flu-related deaths were reported last week, bringing the virus' death toll to five this year in Beijing, the city's health authorities said Friday.

From Jan. 14 to 20, two deaths resulting from the A/H1N1 virus were reported as the city entered peak flu season, but a massive outbreak is unlikely, said Xie Hui, director of the disease control department of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

A/H1N1 flu-related deaths have been reported every week this month in Beijing. In addition to the A/H1N1 virus, the A/H3N2 virus is also currently spreading, according to relevant epidemic pathogen tests.

The A/H1N1 flu outbreak peaked in 2009. More than 120,000 A/H1N1 flu cases were recorded that year in the Chinese mainland, with 648 cases resulting in death.

Wang Quanyi, head of the epidemic prevention institute under the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said people were not yet immune to the A/H1N1 virus in 2009, when the virus spread globally.

Now that the A/H1N1 virus has become an ordinary seasonal flu and people have become immune, an outbreak is very unlikely, according to Wang.