China admits Sars may spread out of control

The Independent -UK ^ | 22 April 2003 | Cahal Milmo

[InShanghai]

Panic grips Beijing as leaders admit tenfold rise in Sars infection rates

By Jasper Becker in Beijing

21 April 2003

China sacked its Health Minister and the mayor of Beijing yesterday and cancelled a week-long May Day holiday after suddenly increasing the figure for Sars cases in the capital.

Beijing has more than 700 confirmed and unconfirmed cases, ten times more than initially admitted, putting it among the communities hit hardest in the world, behind only Guangdong province and Hong Kong. Even now there are doubts whether all the figures in China have been revealed.

The government's actions come after an emergency politburo meeting on Thursday ended weeks of lies and evasions by top officials who tried to deceive World Health Organisations experts struggling to control the outbreak.

In the meantime, the sense of panic amid the Chinese population has spiralled. Public opinion surveys conducted secretly by the government have revealed a rising tide of anger. People have stopped flying on planes and public meeting places are deserted. School and university classes have been suspended. In Beijing all the main international hotels are almost empty, while most people are wearing double face masks and disinfecting their homes and offices. People have been told to eat garlic and a turnip-type vegetable as an antidote. Foreign visits have been cancelled or postponed including that of Tony Blair who was scheduled to arrive this week.

Shopkeepers are using surgical gloves and railway staff are disinfecting stations and giving passengers random temperature checks.

The growing unease was also evident in Canada, the country affected worst outside Asia, where a 14th person has died. Fears that Toronto's health system is now infected saw a leading hospital close its critical care unit after four staff members began showing symptoms.

Meanwhile, Singapore, the country with the fourth-biggest toll, shut its wholesale vegetable market and quarantined all 2,400 workers. South Korea said it was considering a ban on some blood donations. Indonesia deployed troops to help medical staff to examine returning workers and normally bustling Hong Kong was like a ghost town .

China's admission that things were far worse came from Gao Qiang, the deputy health minister, who said an investigation ordered by leaders on 15 April had revealed 339 infections, 18 deaths and 402 suspected cases in Beijing – vastly higher than the 37 cases and four deaths reported earlier. Such public sackings and public admissions of failure are extremely rare in Chinese politics where the principle of collective responsibility is normally applied "Someone had to be held accountable," said a Chinese government source.

Mr Gao denied that his ministry had deliberately misrepresented the facts.

"There is an essential difference between inaccuracy of Sars statistics and intentional cover-up of the situation of the disease," he said. China, he explained, had simply used a different system to report cases. Zhang Winking, the Health Minister, and Ming Xenon, the Beijing deputy party secretary, had repeatedly issued statements saying the position was under control and that China was safe to visit. The Health Minister said the disease was "under effective control".

On the contrary, the disease spread rapidly in the capital but to cover it up the authorities moved patients into military hospitals and did their utmost to deny access to investigators. When they did arrive, the patients were moved out of their rooms and driven around the city.

The World Heath Organisation was alerted to the crisis at China's largest transportation hub only by the courage of a military doctor, Jiang Yanyong, 71, who took the bold step of publicly revealing the number of cases he was aware of in the military hospitals.

WHO said on Wednesday there were probably as many as 200 people in Beijing infected with Sars, although the city government was then insisting that there were only 37 cases.

At least eight of China's poorer provinces, including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, have reported Sars cases. Officials said hospitals in those areas may not be able to cope with contagion and the influx of patients.

The handling of the crisis has dealt China's reputation a severe blow. While the top leadership is primarily concerned at the impact on foreign invest-ment and economic growth, some observers hope it may have wider consequences. Some speculate it could be used by the incoming leadership to push for glasnost in the same way President Mikhail Gorbachev exploited the Chernobyl nuclear accident to push through changes in the former Soviet Union.

Until now, political reforms have not been on the agenda of President Hu who said in a public appearance at military research institute in Beijing yesterday he was confident of China's ability to find the methods to combat Sars.

[Bluewave]

Unfortunately, the sailor gives it to a few dozen hookers on their way to truck stop, the trucker gives it to the groceryman, the neighbor's daughter catches it from the produce manager's son, she passes it to my grandkids while baby sitting, grandma gets sick while tending the babies, and tragedy hits my family and millions of others.

The seriousness of this disease is difficult to imagine and yet, it is one or two encounters away from reality!

It is time to demand a professional and effective response from the CDC and the Federal Government. As much as I dislike the intrusiveness of the Federal Government, we need it now.

[Beck_isright]

Actually that is the proper role of the Federal government as envisioned by the framers. However I am very suspect of any information we get about this disease. I think that if there was a sudden announcement of 1000 cases in a particular community in the US, it would cripple the economy for a decade. I can see this outbreak being kept off of the front page in the US as long as possible.

[Judith Anne]

If it would just give out more accurate information and stop with the "suspect" and "probable" classifications, I'd be a little happier with the CDC and the feds. In addition, the locations would be nice, instead of just giving the state and maybe the county.

I don't think we're getting accurate information from the CDC, it's as politicized here as the health ministry in the PRC, imho.

[henderson field]

Quite right. Wal-Mart will have empty shelves. Then what? We'll have to make the products in America and Congress will be against that.

[zarf]

China should tell the truth about it's AIDS casualty list as well.

[InShanghai]

This is a bit ridiculous, but found on the Guardian

...one of the scientists who discovered the HIV virus warned yesterday of a looming health catastrophe if Sars combines with Aids.

100 more Sars cases in Beijing

[henderson field]

Yep, there's a lot of confusion out there. Personally, I thought it was "Clinton announces that we're all going to die." What a genius.

[Bluewave]

SARS is being treated by the Chinese as a political problem and they are being severely critized.

The world wide economic implications are grave indeed. We are beginning to see a crumbling of lofty ideas for a unified world with free trade.

We will defnitely shoot the messenger on this one, but it is a message worth dying for, because in the end we will die if we don't get the message.

[Beck_isright]

"We will defnitely shoot the messenger on this one, but it is a message worth dying for, because in the end we will die if we don't get the message."

The problem I see, call me a cynic if you wish, is that what brave bureaucrat will risk his job to leak information a superior does not want out in public yet? That's what scares the hell out of me. And how many people did we let into the US from Asia, unscreened, unchecked, and now lost in our system since this started two or three months ago? This sounds like 1918 all over again.

[Beck_isright]

15 possibles here in Florida thus far, FYI.

[Bluewave]

GWB is probably the only one with the integrity and power to bring this to the American people. We have witnesed his character on Iraq. Let's hope he is as forthcoming on SARS.

[InShanghai]

The impact of the disease and its reporting, even if it's way overblown will have an effect on economies all around the world.

Read the article on the Straights Times:

Sars: Big or small, many are hurting

[Beck_isright]

I concur totally. This is the true test of leadership.

[rustbucket]

There is an age group versus mortality table in the following article: SARS death rate increases with age

[Walkingfeather]

The flu does kill thousands... but the majority is the old. Guess what. This KILLS the Young and healthy more. Think about 10 people you know. Pick one. They are dead . You say hah it is all the way in China.... NOPE it is in your state. It will be in your city. Did you know 29 people attending a funeral for a SARS patient came down with the virus? How many Dead people pass the FLU to people at a Funeral.... 29 at the same funeral. Please don't make light of this. 5 months from now you may be sorry you equated this with the common flu./

[Walkingfeather]

heres a thought.... What if there are cargo ships that just cruise the oceans till they run out of fuel because the crew living in such close quarters all die before reaching port?

[Walkingfeather]

GWB already signed an exec. order for forced Quarintines. I dobt Clinton would do that.

[Beck_isright]

Will never happen thankfully. They are pretty much on auto pilot and communications are regular as hell. But what's scares me is that the authorities do not even know if people can act as "carriers" and not get ill and still transmit the disease to others. This is freaky.

[Walkingfeather]

yea non symptomatic carriers....

[Bluewave]

I don't like to be yelling the sky is falling. It does not become me. However, I am one who does not like to deal with the inevitable outcome, when there is another outcome within our control.

There is an economic face to the SARS threat and at the present time, most of us are more worried about the credit cards than our lives.

Some are concerned about a paltry multi-megaton weapon coming into a port and killing two or three million people at the hands of a terrorist, but SARS may come into port and take out 60,000,000. Let's hope the ship runs out of fuel, but let's prepare for the worst.