More than 100 people in Guangzhou came down with flu-like symptoms in the first 10 days of the month, a majority of whom tested positive to influenza, the municipal health bureau said yesterday.

Although no deaths have recorded there so far, the city's flu surveillance report confirmed the presence of the health menace.

"Nearly all patients are school children," Wang Yulin, a researcher with Guangzhou center for disease control and prevention (CDC), told China Daily yesterday.

"Due to the peak flu season, more people probably will contract influenza in the second half of March," Wang said. "(And) the surveillance and prevention of influenza would be strengthened."

The bureau requires all schools in the city to check for the presence of flu among students every morning. Outbreaks of more than five students have to be reported to the local CDC.

Students who have been infected cannot return to school until they have recovered for 48 hours, Wang added.  (By Shan Juan, Lin Shujuan and Liang Qiwen)