Swine Flu & China Review: Ups & Downs With Notable Blog Posts

Source: Xinhuanet

If you’re like me (a thought that surely frightens a few of you), you’re probably at least a wee bit tired of all the recent swine flu, H1N1, Influenza A news that has been circulating incessantly. In fact, for a while, most of us here in China felt somewhat reassuringly isolated. That, of course, changed a bit.

For those that haven’t been paying close attention, we’ve compiled a brief review chronicling the topic of swine flu as it related to China, including the ups and downs and some of the politically contentious issues that cropped up. Amongst the tons of coverage, especially by mainstream traditional media sources, here are some excerpts of some interesting posts from notable English China blogs:

April 27:

Swine Flu is not here! Swine flu is not here!

The next big epidemic is here and this time around it didn’t come out of China! Swine flu, a respiratory disease in pigs, has somehow spread to humans – infecting a total of 20 people in the U.S. so far and allegedly killing more than 103 in Mexico!

Perhaps relieved – almost giddily so – that the new equivalent to SARS didn’t emerge from their shores, China has been busy all weekend announcing their plans to make sure the epidemic never reaches its citizens. [...]

We’re not quite willing to enter the utilitarianism v. priceless human life debate, but it is interesting to think about: In the end, could there be some harm in being too careful?

April 28:

Swine flu on the airwaves

It’s 8 am in Beijing, April 28, and the international TV news channels are freaking out about swine flu.

In China, CCTV’s news channel is reporting on the outbreak and pointing out that China is well-prepared to cope with outbreaks of contagious diseases, thanks to it experience and the facilities built during SARS. The news packages are also noting symptoms and preventative measures that citizens can take. The state itself is stepping up inspections are airports and harbors on people and goods, and has suspended pork imports from Mexico and the U.S. [...]

In Beijing, The China Daily reports that the Mexican Ambassador says that the virus may not have originated in Mexico:

Citing the results of a study in his country, he said: “Somebody from Eurasia first got infected and took it to Mexico,” causing the outbreak.

China maybe has swine flu kinda? Not?

So how effective are China’s emergency provisions against contracting swine flu? We’re not sure right now! While news reports are coming out saying that, according to the World Health Organization’s representative, authorities are investigating several suspected human cases in the country, that doesn’t mean there IS swine flu here. It’s just that some people that have come in contact with certain swine flu risky situations are now being checked out. In fact, WHO told the public it’s not really “probable” that swine flu’s hit the country yet…

Source: igone.com

April 29th:

China swine flu scare confirmed as false

Phew, it seems like we’re safe after all. The Chinese children who were reported sick with swine flu-like symptoms have now been confirmed to be swine flu free.

Papers raise the alarm about swine flu

The front page of most newspapers prominently featured President Hu Jintao’s call for stepped-up efforts to prevent swine flu.

According to Xinhua:

Chinese President Hu Jintao Tuesday ordered the country to step up inspection and quarantine measures to prevent swine flu from entering China and ensure public health and safety.

Hu urged local Party and government departments to stick to the people-first policy, closely monitor the global swine flu situation, and take prompt and comprehensive measures to deal with the virus, which had killed about 150 people in Mexico.

Officials should enhance international cooperation and public awareness of swine flu, and make full preparations of necessary materials and technological reserves to combat the deadly virus, he said.

April 30th:

Today’s Links: Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu, swine flu, swine flu and swine flu!

• China denies being source of swine flu [Jerusalem Post] “Several Mexican officials were quoted in media reports in the past week saying that swine flu came from Asia, with the governor of Mexico’s Veracruz state quoted as saying the virus specifically came from China. “Driven by ulterior motives, some overseas media have ignored the facts of the epidemic and basic scientific knowledge and deliberately fabricated rumors that this epidemic came from China,” Health Ministry spokesman Mao Qun’an said in a statement on the ministry Web site.”

May 1st:

Is China Losing its Appetite for Pork?

In some quarters China’s massive pork market, which accounts for about half the world’s consumption, farmers and exporters are reporting a drop in demand and prices. But nationwide, Xinhua says that supplies of pork have remained stable, with no major price fluctuations, and sales got a boost from the three-day May Day holiday that started today.

Credit: AP/Kin Cheung

May 2nd:

Around Shanghai: The fate of the Conrad Hilton, foreign firms on the stock market, and no swine flu through Shanghai… or NOT!

• Phew! The first direct flight between Shanghai and Mexico since this whole swine flu thing began has been checked… and it’s flu free! [Xinhua]
• OR IS IT PHEW?! Hong Kong’s first H1N1 case was apparently a Mexican national who transited through Shanghai! Are we doomed? We may be doomed! [Shanghai Scrap]

First H1N1 Case In Hong Kong

(SCMP) HK confirms first swine flu case By Martin Wong and Loretta Fong. May 2, 2009.

Hong Kong’s pandemic response level was raised to “emergency” – the top grade – last night after a Mexican man who flew to the city via Shanghai on Thursday became the first confirmed case of H1N1 human swine flu in Asia.

A hotel where the man stayed was placed under a seven-day quarantine lockdown – to the dismay of its 200 guests and 100 staff – as efforts began to trace passengers from his flight and taxi drivers who transported him after his arrival. The Metropark Hotel in Wan Chai, where the 25-year-old Mexican checked in before going to hospital on Thursday night, was cordoned off immediately after tests confirmed he was infected with the potentially deadly flu.

Netizens Angry Shanghai Allowed Swine Flu To Enter China

Yesterday, Hong Kong confirmed the first case of Swine Flu (H1N1) after a passenger arrived in Hong Kong on a China Eastern flight from Mexico that also passed through Shanghai. Many netizens are very upset and angry and blame Shanghai for allowing the plane to enter China.

Didn’t Shanghai do an investigation/detection? Now that the flu has been spread to here, how do we understand/deal with the risks/danger? Who will bear the consequences of what this leads to? The relevant officials really underestimated the seriousness of this problem. This kind of irresponsible attitude makes people disgusted.

Calm down, so many things that happened in 2008 but China still made it through, nothing to worry about.

We should forbid Mexican people from entering. This is not about humanism, this is about an epidemic.

Flu news from China: Mexican citizens being detained

You can understand why China is nervous, given its dense urban populations and its experience with SARS. You can understand quarantines based on recent presence in a diseased area or possible exposure to diseased people. You can comprehend why direct flights between Mexico and China have for now been called off.

But there is no decent reason for quarantine and detention based solely on nationality. To the best of my information, this blanket quarantine of Mexican citizens is not being applied anyplace else on earth. Let’s hope this is a panicky mistake by Chinese and Beijing-area officials and will soon be reversed.

Credit: AP. Source: BBC

May 3rd:

Q: So you’ve just been accused of being the source of swine flu…

…how do you reply?

A: Well, if you’re a Chinese government spokesperson you probably rarely pass up an opportunity to bury your positive points under much more quotable anger. [...]

Chuffed as China may be to be addressing an epidemic that arose someplace other than southern China, the appropriate talking point to use in response to any question or accusation regarding possible origin of this flu in China is the following:

The evidence does not support any such conclusion. We naturally remain vigilant and ready to supply any assistance we can to affected countries.

That’s about all you need to say, perhaps along with a mention of any aid being provided so far. At least, up until the unfortunate time when evidence does support such a conclusion.

China: Quarantining all Mexicans

Portal news websites such as Global Times are closely reporting on all developments of the global endemic; in a story on the “dissatisfaction” expressed by the Mexican ambassador to China, Jorge Guajardo—who earlier suggested that H1N1 originated in Eurasia—at seeing Mexican citizens being singled out, readers have written:

With communicable diseases of this degree, we should quarantine anyone who comes under suspicion. If we suspect a bunch, then quarantine them all. With a population of 1.3 billion, I’d be fine if we quarantined a hundred of them.

I can see why Mexican diplomats are “dissatisfied”, but this dissatisfaction is absolutely useless in protecting the lives of the people. That H1N1 spread so widely in just a few days just goes to show that the measures taken by their government aren’t paying off.

Roll off back to Mexico!
Influenza has an incubation period, and even our own people are in quarantine, so what makes you so special?! What’s more, the first case within China was one of you Mexicans! If you hadn’t come, China’s number of infected and suspected cases will still be at zero!!!!!

May 4th:

Mexico and China in Swine Flu Row (Updated)

Update: Reuters reports that “China denies flu discrimination against Mexicans”:

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu rejected the criticism, saying the isolation was correct procedure, not bigotry.

“The measures concerned are not directed at Mexican citizens and there is no discrimination,” Ma said in a statement issued on the ministry website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

“This was purely a medical quarantine issue,” Ma said, adding that Mexico should “give full understanding to the measures adopted by China and handle this matter objectively and calmly.”

A spokeswoman for the Mexican Embassy in Beijing said neither she nor the ambassador had any immediate comment on the Chinese statement. She said that as of Sunday about 70 Mexican nationals were held in confinement in China.

Swine Flu Takes to the Skies: Mexico, China Mull Sending Planes to Fetch Stranded Citizens

The drama between China and Mexico over the H1N1 flu is spilling over into air space, as each country has announced plans to send planes to fetch its citizens from the other.

Source: Xinhuanet

May 5th:

PSA: Preventing, identifying and treating Swine Flu (aka Influenza A aka H1N1)

How can I prevent getting infected?

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. [...]

Now Canadian Students Under Quarantine in China

[N]ow may not such a good time to be a Canadian in China, at least in some parts of the country. The CBC reports that a group of 25 Canadian students in northeast China was placed in a week-long quarantine over the weekend as fears of the H1N1 flu spread in China. [...]

“It wasn’t like the word came down, let’s get Canadians. It was the timing that we were the first non-Mexican group to fall under the new regulations, at least in this region.” David Ownby, director of the East Asia Studies Department at the University of Montreal, told the CBC. “”It’s a big machine, China… it’s hard to make a provincial bureaucracy turn against a ruling that comes down from the center.”

The measure highlights the seeming randomness of enforcement measures in China.

May 6th:

Swine Flu and Why China Can’t Win in the West

When the swine flu stories broke, China was ready. Armed with experience from the SARS epidemic, the government acted swiftly and aggressively…But acting swiftly and aggressively has also brought criticism from abroad by those claiming China is discriminating against Mexicans and foreigners generally.

…the current outcry strikes us as a teensy bit hypocritical. One wonders how, exactly, the Chinese government could respond to disease in a way that doesn’t draw criticism from the West, although in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Regardless of what the Western media says, as of now, there are no cases of swine flu in Mainland China. Really, shouldn’t that be the indicator of how good a job the government is doing controlling the spread of disease?

Mexican? Please come with us.

I’m all for screening and acting aggressively – if you also act intelligently and rationally. [...]

Action for action’s sake isn’t necessarily better than no action at all. Some of those rounded up in China hadn’t even been to Mexico in recent months, but the Mexican passport was grounds enough for quarantine. None of the Mexicans rounded up like criminals showed any symptoms of the sickness. They were rounded up only because they were Mexicans. And that is irrational and hysterical.

One of the most maddening defenses I’ve read of this passport-based quarantining was in a Chinese editorial claiming this was “best for the passengers” because they’ll be under close medical supervision in case they begin to show symptoms. You see, it’s all for their sake, and it’s only because we care. [...]

So before we congratulate China for their bold and aggressive tactics,let’s first ask ourselves: Do these tactics actually make anyone safer? Are their actions based on science or hysteria? [...]

And let me add, I thought the quarantining of the hotel in Hong Kong,while extreme, at least made sense. We had an actual infection there. In Beijing, nothing. Just fear and ignorance. Kind of like police who put on latex gloves and face masks when questioning a suspect who has AIDS. I don’t applaud them for caution, I attack them for their ignorance and bigotry.

Coverage in the English China blogosphere seems to have died down a bit in the past two days. As a parting recommendation, check out the WSJ China Journal’s Dispatches from Flu Camp/Metropark Hotel series of posts for some first-person accounts of those being quanratined for possible swine flu infection.