No. 3 Senior High School of Xing'an County of central China's Henan Province has been required to suspend all classes for one week after eight students were confirmed to have contracted the A/H1N1 flu as of Saturday.

The epidemic situation surfaced on Thursday afternoon when the People's Hospital of Xin'an County received a A/H1N1 flu patient who was from the school's Class Eight and Grade Two, sources with the county government said.

Subsequent morning temperature screening and epidemiological survey staged by the county's center for disease control and prevention showed 34 students from the Grade Two had a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius.

The possible outbreak was immediately reported to the Health Bureau of Luoyang City, which dispatched a medical squad to the school in the early hours of Saturday.

The school has 41 classes and 2,768 students in total. All students running a fever had been put under medical observation and treatment.

Those who had close contact with the 34 suspect cases had been required to stay home for observation.

A thorough disinfection will be done during the recess.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2009)