Deadly Virus, China Puts Nation On Alert

Ioanna Dafermou
The Associated Press
5/3/2008 10:10:19 AM

BEIJING (AP) – China's Health Ministry issued a nationwide alert Saturday calling for heightened efforts to control a virus that has caused the deaths of 22 children in one city and shows signs of spreading.

Health bureaus around the country must step up monitoring for hand, foot and mouth disease following a "relatively large" outbreak in the central city of Fuyang, the Health Ministry said in notices on its website.

The ministry warned that cases were more numerous this year than in recent years, and the peak for transmission would likely come in June and July.

The outbreak is another concern for China's communist government as it gears up to welcome hundreds of thousands of foreigners for this summer's Beijing Olympics. It's also an uncomfortable reminder of the SARS pneumonia outbreak in 2003, which Beijing tried to cover up but then adopted drastic measures to control.

Up to Thursday night, 3,321 cases of EV-71 were reported in Fuyang, a fast-growing city in largely rural Anhui province. Besides the 22 deaths, 978 people remain hospitalized, 58 of them in serious or critical condition, the ministry said in a separate statement.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency also reported that preliminary tests showed an 18-month-old boy who died Friday in southeastern Guangdong province was infected with EV-71, and a second suspected death was under investigation. Cases of hand, foot and mouth outbreaks, but not necessarily EV-71, have been reported in at least two other provinces.

"Health bureaus at all levels must recognize the importance and urgency of preventing the spread of infectious diseases," the ministry said in its nationwide order.

Enterovirus 71 is one of several viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease, which is characterized by fever, mouth sores and a rash with blisters. It is spread by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons.

The illness mainly strikes children young than 10 and is not related to foot and mouth disease, which infects cattle, sheep and swine.

The nationwide order said preventing the spread of infectious diseases was necessary "to guarantee the smooth staging of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics and to practically preserve social stability."

The order targeted hand, foot and mouth disease, as well as hepatitis A, measles and other infectious diseases commonly spread in the spring and summer.

Mindful of the SARS experience, the order vowed to punish any person or agency who tried to cover-up or delay disclosure of outbreaks.

State media cited the SARS experience in reports this past week that said people in Fuyang had criticized the government's response as slow, allowing rumors to spread about the outbreak.

A press officer with the World Health Organization said representatives were not available for comment on Saturday. The WHO in a statement on Thursday said that while cases in Fuyang cropped up in early March, they increased sharply starting April 19 but a rapid response from China also steeply decreased the rate of fatalities in the second half of April.

With no vaccine or specific therapy developed for EV-71, the WHO recommended better hygiene, with more frequent hand-washing and disinfecting areas – something that it said China was doing.

State-run television footage showed workers spraying disinfectant around houses in rural areas outside Fuyang and medical teams visiting families with small children.

Since the SARS crisis, the government has increased spending on the detection and monitoring of communicable diseases. The Health Ministry has ordered regular reports on outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth diseases and has sent expert teams to Anhui province to lead treatment and prevention

Saturday's warning was prompted by a jump in cases in Fuyang of Enterovirus 71, or EV-71, a type of hand, foot and mouth disease.

Last Saturday there were 789 cases reported and in less than a week that jumps to 3321...........

http://z13.invisionfree.com/Falcons_Fan_Fo...showtopic=22689

And I asked the question then, "What's going on that the Chinese isn't telling the rest of the world?"

that is so wierd, cause i live here in peoria illinois and the other night i was at bennigans in downtown, next to CAT headquarters and i saw a couple chinese people walking around the bar with a mask covering their mouth, and of course i had to make a reference to SARs and now i read this, this sucks man.

I saw this movie on HBO and its scary as shit. The bad part is it jumps Continents.

I hear ya Rob[Salvador]. (scares me too.....)

People take reports like this lightly now days, but most of the world's killer virus's and epidemics originate in Southeast Asia and jump across continents. With global travel as it is today, it's even easier for an event to happen.

Seasonal Flu, Swine Flu, Fujian flu and the deadelist of them all, the Hong Kong Flu (H1N1, H3N2, and H1N2) all came from China.

The Hong Kong Flu was the worst that went around the world in about 45 days in 1968 and whipped out over 34,000 people in the US. Over 500,000 were infected. I was one of those people and it almost killed me at age 11. Mom said at one point the Dr's basically said I was toast, I'd never recover.

I can't tell you how many injections of various medicines they gave me either. Everyone was searching for a cure and anyone that had it was basically a geunie pig.

Since there wasn't a cure, all they could do was try to keep the fever down and liquids in your body. I remember being placed in a tub filled with ice and water on several occasions. Other times I was on a bed with rubber sheets being sponged down with cold water.

Over the course of two weeks I lost over 40 lbs and it took another 3 weeks afterwards to "get over" the effects.

So when shit like this occurs in China, it gets my attention and in a hurry. Especially when like I mentioned on the other thread about hoof and mouth disease "if the public knew what farmers know".........

Well this is it, the outbreak has occurred, only it's in China. Where it stops???????????
No body knows because this is the worse place in the world for shit like this to happen. The Chinese will not let the International Medical people in until it's to late.

and btw, this strain is labeled "Droplet Contact", meaning it's airborne. A simple cough or sneeze will spread it.

Flame away, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if this thing popped about a billion in China and India, a few million each in Europe, Africa, and North America.

A population crash is going to happen eventually. May as well get it over with before we screw the planet up too bad.

Ever the self-centered

lol, wasn't flamin' you bud, just replying to RobSalvador's.

IF they can contain that shit across the big pond, let it roll.......

On the other hand, if it does jump across the big pond, it could revert back to "hoof and mouth" and wipe out our beef supply. A trillion dollar industry...

The end justifies the means. Youre an evil, sadistic SOB, my kind of guy.

Actually, I think the outbreaks would concentrate on areas of overpopulation. Leaving the rednecks insulated from the main effects. The individualist and self-centered should do well for themselves.

Those that do well for themselves will be targets and cattle for those who kick ass (like me) when civilization collapses.

Talk about self-centered.

How is world domination self centered?

Oh, this is apparently for the greater good?

Hell yeah it is! Look how you bitches are fucking up my planet. You all need a few decades of my iron fist up your ass!

True story :bash:

Sounds pure homo to me......

True Story

You're a homo.

True Story

True Story

Did I ask you to give a shit?

Deal with it.

true story

You hosers are pretty much screwing up "True Story"

"I don't think it means what you thing it does"

It`s just you`r way of winning friends and influencing people.
True Story

There's a fine line between true story and gibberish and you just crossed it.

Doc crossed it about 4 or 5 times today.

Thanks for sharing.

True Story.