Chinese influenza experts say that there is unlikely to be a nationwide flu epidemic in China in the wake of outbreaks in Europe and America.

Epidemic prevention departments in Beijing and Guangzhou also confirmed on January 14 that there have no reports of serious outbreaks so far.

It is estimated that following last year's flu outburst in China, about 60 to 70 percent of Chinese are more or less immune to the Type A Sydney strain which left millions in Europe bedridden in the past several weeks, according to Guo Yuanji, director of the China National Flu Center.

"It is very difficult to be infected by the same strain two years in a row," he said, adding that the mutation has not been detected in China. "Unless new types of flu virus emerge, there will be no large scale outburst of flu."

China has long been considered as the breeding ground for new flu virus and is being closely monitored, according to Guo.

Type A virus spread throughout China last winter. More than one million people or one tenth of the total population were hit by the virus in Beijing alone.

The October-January figure of those suffering from upper respiratory tract infections, the flu and the common cold dropped by 36 percent from the same period in 1998-1999, said an expert responsible for monitoring influenza in Beijing.

"The symptoms of most patients, such as coughs, high fever, sniveling and sneezing, are typical common cold caused by sudden fluctuations in the weather, but not the flu virus," said Dong Zhenying at the Beijing Station for Epidemic Prevention.