China's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday launched a contingency plan for enhancing national readiness against a possible outbreak of pandemic influenza.

The contingency plan outlines the structure of national prevention steering and enforcement systems, logistics, emergency reaction and supervision.

MOH urged all localities to draft their own contingency plans in accordance with the local conditions and make good preparations for a possible flu pandemic.

Four levels of alert -- red, orange, yellow and blue -- will indicate the seriousness of a pandemic outbreak.

The most serious level, "red", will be announced in case of the consistent and rapid spread of new sub-type flu virus, or if the World Health Organization (WHO) announces the outbreak of a flu pandemic.

Health authorities above the county level must mobilize all medical resources and set up temporary clinics in case a red alert is announced, and the MOH must release daily reports on the surveillance and control of the pandemic to keep the public well informed, according to the plan.

The MOH is responsible for organizing and coordinating epidemic contingency work and, if needed, raising suggestions for establishing a national public health contingency headquarters to the State Council, says the plan.

Meanwhile, health authorities above the county level should ensure the collection, registry and delivery of flu virus samples for testing, and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) should establish a national system to manage the surveillance information of influenza and avian influenza.

China has a weak basis for public health and medical services. The disease surveillance network needs improvment and the production capacity of vaccines and drugs is inadequate, said the information office of the MOH.

A flu pandemic could arouse turbulent public pandemonium if the country is poorly prepared, it noted.

Source: Xinhua