China's Health Ministry Tuesday asked medical institutions across the country to train their staff to identify and treat critical cases of A/H1N1 influenza, after three deaths had been reported.

Medical staff, especially those in grassroots and remote areas, needed training to better diagnose and treat patients, said a statement on the ministry website Tuesday.

Medical institutions should make technical preparations with emergency teams, wards and facilities, it said.

However, the ministry did not reveal details of the training schedule.

As fall and winter approach, China has reported an increasing number of A/H1N1 flu cases. As of Monday, the mainland had reported more than 36,000 cases, of whom almost 30,000 had recovered. Of the 53 critical cases, 17 had recovered and three died.

The latest death case was a patient in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, who died on Monday.

The other two victims were an 18-year-old woman in Tibet who died on October 4, and a 43-year-old woman who died last Friday in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2009)