President Ma Ying-jeou has invited scholars and specialists from Academia Sinica, former health ministers and public health officials to attend a consultation conference Thursday on combating influenza A(H1N1). The government has been on top alert against the disease, as close to 40,000 people in Taiwan have contracted influenza A(H1N1) since early June, though most of them developed only mild symptoms. Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi said Wednesday that no anti-epidemic national security mechanism will be launched at the moment. However, Vice President Vincent Siew, National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi, Vice Premier Chiu Cheng-hsiung, Health Minister Chih-liang Yaung, and officials of the Centers for Disease Control will all attend the consultations, Wang said. President of Academia Sinica Wong Chi-huey, two former ministers of the Department of Health, Chan Chi-shean and Chen Chien-jen, and ranking officials of the ruling Kuomintang are also expected to join the meeting. 