BEIJING -- China's State Food and Drug Administration released a circular on Tuesday calling for strengthened supervision over the quality of medical equipment used in the diagnosis and treatment of H7N9.

The circular urged local health departments to monitor the production status and sales records of medical equipment production companies within their jurisdictions, especially in regards to protective apparel, respirators, anesthesia machines and diagnostic reagents, among other equipment.

Health departments were also told to launch campaigns to check local medical equipment manufacturers for effective quality control systems, valid registration certificates for their products, adequate management of source materials and officially-approved labels and manuals.

While vowing severe punishments for illegal production and sale activities, the administration urged local health departments to focus on the research and development of in vitro diagnostic reagents for the H7N9 virus and ensure that developers and manufacturers of such products apply for product registrations in accordance with laws and regulations.