Deadly virus spreads in China, 21 children die

Reuters ^ | 5-2-2008 | Reuters

[Westlander]

BEIJING (Reuters) - A deadly virus has spread rapidly in eastern China, killing at least 21 children and infecting nearly 3,000, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

[Westlander]

Welcome Olympians!

[null and void]

ping

[Nextrush]

If China were a free country, this disease would have been public knowledge weeks ago.

Our cable networks would have gone wild with it in this country.

[null and void]

ping

[pandoraou812]

look, & our teams are going to China???

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping...

[LucyT]

Thanks, SJ.

Pinging ye...

[fieldmarshaldj]

May they rest in peace. Prayers for the other ones to recover swiftly.

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[Caipirabob]

I had family just return from China and they said it was so "explicative removed" filthy that it hurt his throat to breath. He's back in the states and has had a sore throat since he returned. I don't think he was prepared for the level of absolute filth he saw and described.

I think China needs to be prepared to not just lose face, but everything attached to it. The world is about to discover a whole new definition of "pollution".

[pandoraou812]

Prayers for these poor children in China

[Jeff Chandler]

I see a Lifetime Movie Network movie in the making.

[Jeff Chandler]

The world is about to discover a whole new definition of "pollution".

We already have one. It's 'exhaling carbon dioxide'.

[Caipirabob]

So true...whoever new that “life” would be considered a pollutant?

[Bon mots]

I had family just return from China and they said it was so "explicative removed" filthy that it hurt his throat to breath. He's back in the states and has had a sore throat since he returned. I don't think he was prepared for the level of absolute filth he saw and described.

That must be Beijing. It is polluted, but the worst thing is the huge cloud of dust that blows over from the Gobi Desert - that is what hurts your throat and eyes when you get there, not just the pollution. There is the omnipresent scent of sulfur in the air too.

This year the sandstorms in the Gobi Desert are particularly bad and the dust in Beijing is visible.

For what it's worth: the sandstorms are a natural phenomenon and not the result of any human activity.

[Teacher317]

I’m in southern China now. Beijing is quite a bit cleaner than most of the rest of the nation, as far as I can tell from the 5 or 6 cities I’ve been to this trip. I’m sure they’re going to go crazy cleaning in July, and will spare no expense during the Olympics itself. The number of Olympic-themed commercials is already annoying. There is also no shortage of ads and reminders on how to act (Smile, be polite, don’t litter, no cells phone use on the buses, give directions, etc), how proud to feel (no shortage of broad smiles on any Olympic commercial), and how ready they are. (I’m going to throw something if I hear that song much more this week!)

Note: I do think that it’s kinda nice to see non-aggressive nationalism used to inspire positive feelings, though. When was the last time we had much of that in the US... especially when it wasn’t virtually required, like after 9-11?

I have to think that, in addition to the Gobi Desert, the farming practices of the western 2/3 of the nation have a lot to do with the dirt in the air. Our dust bowl was partially a result of farming practices that ruined the good soil. I’d bet heavy money the rural China hasn’t gotten the newsflash on that one yet. (And the ever-present industrial smokestacks and brick oven chimneys out there surely aren’t doing any favors to the air quality, either.)

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

is the huge cloud of dust that blows over from the Gobi Desert - that is what hurts your throat and eyes when you get there, not just the pollution.

This dust sometimes makes its way as far as Taiwan.

[dawn53]

We spent a couple months in China (my husband was on a job assignment.) The pollution is unbelievable and a lot of Chinese experience respiratory illness because of it.

As to this “virus”...I wonder if any agency other than the Chinese has checked to make sure it’s a virus, and not some mass accidental poisoning.

[agere_contra]

I wonder if any agency other than the Chinese has checked to make sure it’s a virus, and not some mass accidental poisoning.

ABSOLUTELY. Well said Dawn. This will turn out to be a mass poisoning, probably with anti-freeze used as a sweetener. I'll bet the Olympics on it.

God bless these poor children and their families.

[TheBattman]

Bio-terrorism? China weapons testing? Or just the incredibly poor record of public health and hygiene?