China stays alert on more imported MERS

Health institutions should stay alert for more imported cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), according to a circular by China's top health authorities on Friday.

With emphasis on preventing more cases from entering the country, hospitals and clinics at all levels should prepare themselves for a MERS outbreak at home, said the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).

Judging on China's close exchanges with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Middle East, the commission said China cannot ensure no more imported cases and called for prevention of the disease.

Medical institutions must prevent hospital-acquired infections by fully implementing the pre-examination and triage procedures on patients with influenza-like or pneumonia symptoms, the circular said.

Medical staff should file early reports to disease control centers when learning of patients' possible contact with MERS cases from epidemic regions, the circular said.

Health authorities must allocate enough protective equipment to hospitals and proper training for medical staff to prevent in-hospital spread of the disease, said the commission. Endi