China reports fast rise of A/H1N1 flu deaths

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland saw a faster increase of deaths from the A/H1N1 influenza in the past weeks, according to the Ministry of Health.

A total of 74 deaths were reported in the week from Nov. 23 to 29, said a notice issued on the ministry's website Wednesday. Reported deaths in the previous two weeks were 28 and 51 respectively.

About 91 percent of all the flu cases reported last week were of the A/H1N1 strain, compared with 89.8 percent in the previous week, the notice said.

The ministry advised the public to keep warm in the cold weather, wash hands frequently and keep rooms ventilated.

As of Monday, more than 27 million people nationwide had been inoculated with China-made A/H1N1 vaccine, according to the ministry.

Four deaths had been reported after vaccination and three had been confirmed irrelevant to the vaccines, while cause of the other is not clear yet, the ministry said.