More than 740,000 encephalitis B vaccines are needed to inoculate everyone under the age of 20 in Yuncheng City of Shanxi Province, where a recent outbreak of the disease has claimed 19 lives, local officials said on Sunday.

Local health authorities hope that vaccinating everyone in the age group will curb the spread of the disease.

Shanxi provincial health bureau has contacted vaccine producers who are being asked to provide the serum for the young people and for people in other age groups.

Young people stricken with the illness are more likely to die or suffer a disability.

More than 20 percent Yuncheng's population of 4.95 million are under the age of 20. The provincial health department has already provided 400,000 vaccines to the city, which only had 20,000 vaccines on hand.

As of Sunday, Yuncheng reported 60 people infected with the disease, 19 have died, 31 remain in hospital, eight of whom are in critical condition. Six others have recovered and were discharged from hospital.

Last year the area reported 30 cases of encephalitis B, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

The city government has decided to provide free medical treatment for the eight patients in critical condition and for four people who had abandoned medical treatment because they couldn't afford it.

The cost of medical treatment will be covered for everyone who can not afford it, said the city government.

The city government will also provide free vaccines for people under 20, who live in remote mountainous areas and who's families are poor.

The outbreak of encephalitis B exposed a shortage of vaccine reserves at grass-roots medical institutions in Yuncheng city, especially in rural areas, said Liang Guodong, deputy head of the virus research institute under the National Disease Prevention and Control Center.

A lack of instruments and equipment make it difficult for medical workers to timely and accurately diagnose the patients, Liang said.

A grass-roots epidemic disease prevention and control system urgently needs to be established to ensure quick response to public health emergencies in the future, said experts with the Ministry of Health, who are working with local health experts to curb the spread of the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2006)