China has launched health checks on flights from Mexico and the United States, the country's top quality supervisor said at a conference on prevention of swine flu Thursday.

Medical workers must collect information about the health of passengers on planes arriving from Mexico and the United States, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ).

Air travelers from the United States must go through a separate path upon arriving at Chinese airports and receive an infrared screening, the GAQSIQ said. Passengers with temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius will be subject to strict medical examinations.

The measures have been applied to flights from Mexico since April 28, and extended to American flights at a later time, the country's top quality supervisor said without giving specific date.

The administration urged quarantine offices at all levels to conduct thorough sanitization of flights and ships from Mexico and the United States, including wastes and water on board.

Quarantine departments on land borders were also ordered to keep closer watch for swine flu in neighboring countries and regions to prevent it from entering China via road.

The country has found 31 fever patients at customs across the country from April 25 to 29. None of them are swine flu carriers.

The probable death toll from swine flu in Mexico, where the first case was reported, rose to 176, the Mexican Health Ministry said late Wednesday local time, and there has been one reported death in the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)