H1N1 Reported Almost as Severe as SARS in China
H1N1 Reported Almost as Severe as SARS in China By Huang Lida, Wen Qing, and Ning Xiu
New Tang Dynasty Television Created: Nov 26, 2009
Last Updated: Nov 27, 2009
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/25688/ The current H1N1 epidemic across China has become almost as severe as the SARS epidemic a few years ago, according to a hospital staff member in Shenzhen who spoke with New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) on Nov. 23. He asked to remain anonymous.
Although Shenzhen officials claim that there have been no variants so far, the medical staff member from the Shenzhen Bao’an People’s Hospital said that variants have indeed been discovered.
“Three types of symptoms have been reported, and they are all flu. Now there are many symptoms—and they are variants of the H1N1 flu.” Numerous cases of deaths have been reported in several provinces and cities.
The staff member also said that this surge in H1N1 flu patients did not begin just recently. The epidemic situation in schools has been the most severe, even though many of the students received flu shots. He said there is currently a shortage of vaccine.
“The flu is everywhere in primary and secondary schools,” the staff member said, “As soon as one person gets infected, the whole class gets infected. Hospitals run out of wards. It is like it was during the SARS epidemic,” he added. Staff from the education division of the local Center for Disease Control (CDC) refused to comment, saying only that journalists must file an application to request an interview.
Director Cheng Jinquan of the Shenzhen CDC said they have confirmed 1,136 cases, adding that the actual number could far exceed that.
Since the H1N1 virus spreads quickly, it is prone to becoming a pandemic. According to a Southern Metropolitan News report on Nov. 21, the number of infections in Shenzhen could reach as high as 1,000,000.
The Department of Health of Guangdong Province recently reported five deaths there. Guangdong is the place where SARS first broke out in Nov. 2002.
By 2003, SARS had spread to nearly thirty countries, affecting more than 8,000 people with more than 800 deaths. The economic losses were estimated at USD$30 billion. China had the largest number of infections, with those in Hong Kong and mainland China comprising 80 percent of all infections worldwide. Sources inside China say the actual number of infections was likely much higher. (
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-9-8/32146.html)
Presumably to reduce the level of panic as SARS swept across China, the Chinese Communist Party started calling the disease “atypical pneumonia,” instead of its internationally acknowledged label, “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome” or SARS.
Read original article in Chinese:
http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2009/11/24/ ... html#video_________________