Confronted with the threat of a bird flu pandemic, governments
and civilians around the world are gripped by fear, a situation
reminiscent of the panic caused by SARS two years ago. At that
time, the foreign media seized the opportunity to stretch the facts
and overstate the negative impact the disease would have on China's
economic growth. According to International Herald Leader
report published on November 14, these exaggerated reports did more
damage to the country's economy than SARS actually did.
These are the main points made in that report:
A recent Bloomberg report indicated that China's economy is
likely to suffer from the outbreak of bird flu as the country has
"consistently" tried to cover up the epidemic. An article carried
by Hong Kong Economic Journal listed bird flu as one of the
top 10 factors that might hold up the sustainable development of
China's economy. Asian Development Bank predicted the epidemic
might incur a pecuniary loss of US$230 billion for the continent,
adding that the Chinese mainland is likely to suffer the most.
New industries such as the heavy chemical industry are the main
drivers of China's economic development. The bird flu pandemic
affects mainly poultry farming, livestock husbandry, catering trade
and tourism. As the country has taken effective measures to keep
the epidemic under control, it should not hinder the overall
economic growth in any remarkable way.
Nevertheless, as demonstrated before, an irrational fear of the
epidemic can bring about an even bigger economic risk by affecting
foreign trade, foreign direct investment and the stability of the
yuan.
Epidemic-stricken Heishan recovering
On November 4, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) reported an
H5N1 outbreak in Heishan County, Jinzhou City, Liaoning
Province.
Badaohao Town, where the outbreak was first reported, boasts a
20-year history of chicken farming. It has reared some 6 million
chickens, accounting for a third of the county's total output. The
provincial government decided to slaughter all chickens in the
epidemic-stricken area, which would "cause a direct loss of over 50
million yuan to the town and put 800-odd people out of work," Guo
Haitao, secretary of the town's Party committee, said on November
9.
Even if the town is given the "all clear" and health agencies
continue to monitor the situation, it will be at least six months
before chicken farming is allowed to resume. ?
"Despite the odds, poultry farming will continue to be our
pillar industry in the future," Guo said.
"Among city-dwellers there is a great demand for eggs and
chicken. Besides, all facilities for chicken farming can be put to
use immediately after they're sterilized. What we need to do is to
buy some new chicks."
Some chicken farmers affected by the bird flu in Badaohao have
expressed the wish that chicken vaccine be made a little cheaper so
that they can afford it.
All chicken products have been pulled off shelves in Heishan's
markets since November 7. Prices for farm produce and articles for
daily use remain stable. Local people's lives are back to
normal.
The Qinghai experience
The outbreak of avian flu in Qinghai Province from May to July
attracted worldwide attention. Following an inspection tour of the
epidemic-stricken areas, World Health Organization (WHO) experts
highly appraised the prevention and control measures adopted by the
provincial government.
"First of all, we enforced a tight blockade of the
epidemic-stricken areas," said Dang Chenyan, director of the
province's animal epidemic prevention headquarters. "We vaccinated
all fowl across the province and had to slaughter another 10,000
fowl that were raised in the surrounding areas to prevent the
epidemic's spread. Meanwhile, we kept close watch all day long on
over 7,000 bird habitats in the province."
"Once an epidemic is reported, all fowl within a radius of three
kilometers of the outbreak area will be slaughtered," said Jia
Youling, director of the MOA's Veterinary Bureau. "A complete
slaughter of poultry and large-scale immunization are actually
carried out simultaneously, which is seldom seen in other
countries."
At the same time, villagers are given subsidies by the
government for their slaughtered fowl. This policy has
significantly encouraged them to report epidemic diseases, Jia
added.
International cooperation
At an international ministerial-level meeting held in Canada in
October, Health Minister Gao Qiang called for closer international
cooperation to battle a potential flu pandemic.
After H5N1 epidemics were reported in Inner Mongolia, Anhui and
Hunan, the mainland made them known immediately to Hong Kong,
Macao, the UNFAO and foreign embassies and consulates in China.
"Also, I informed in my own name the OIE -- the Paris-based
world organization for animal health," said Jia. "And the
Cross-Straits Association of Agricultural Exchanges did the same to
Taiwan's relevant non-governmental organizations."
According to Margaret FC Chan, WHO's new chief of pandemic
influenza, China has provided its virus infected plant materials to
the organization, which has maintained close contacts with the
country's ministries of health and agriculture. The materials are
very helpful for researchers to follow the variation of the virus
and to develop new anti-bird flu drugs and vaccines.
China and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding in
Washington on October 31, aiming to strengthen cooperation in
prevention and control of epidemic diseases including bird flu. A
seminar was held in Beijing the next day during which the MOA, the
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine, and the US Department of Agriculture discussed
strategies and tactics to fight a bird flu pandemic.
In early August, outbreaks were reported in north Mongolia. To
prevent the spread of the epidemic, at the request of the Mongolian
government, the MOA dispatched an expert group there to provide
technical assistance, and bring over bird flu vaccines and
protective equipment. The group was there from August 25 to
September 2.
According to Jia, China has also rendered assistance to other
affected Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, North Korea
and Indonesia to prevent and control the bird flu pandemic.
(China.org.cn by Shao Da, November 21, 2005)