WAR IS NOT THE ONLY THREAT FROM CHINA
CHINA'S LAX EXPORTED GERM WARFARE IS
JUST AS DANGEROUS
⺞ Infectious diseases remain the major causes of morbidity and mortality in China despite substantial progress in their control. China is the major contributor to the worldwide infectious disease burden because of its population size.
⺞ The association of China with the rest of the world through travel and trade means that events in the country can affect distant populations.
⺞ The ecological interaction of people with animals in China favors the emergence of new microbial threats. The public-health system has to be prepared to deal with the challenges of newly emerging infectious diseases and at the same time try to control existing diseases.
⺞ Currently Bird or Avian Flu — According to WOAH, the disease is caused by influenza A viruses in the family Orthomyxoviridae. It reports that because its identification in the People’s Republic of China in 1996, there have been multiple waves of intercontinental transmission of the H5Nx Gs/GD lineage virus.
⺞ The virus has resulted in the death and mass slaughter of more than 316 million poultry worldwide between 2005 and 2021, with peaks in 2021, 2020, and 2016. In 2006, 2016, 2017, and 2021, more than 50 countries and territories were affected by HPAI.
⺞ In addition, up to now, humans have occasionally been infected with subtypes H5N1, with about 850 cases reported, of which half died; H7N9 with approximately 1,500 cases reported, of which about 600 died; H5N6 with about 75 cases reported, of which about 30 died; H9N2 with about 75 patients reported, of which two died; and sporadic cases have been reported with subtypes H3N8, H7N4, H7N7, and H10N34,5,6,7,8. —
COVID-19 - China — 5 January 2020 — Unknown —
On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China.
Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.
The causal agent has not yet been identified or confirmed. On 1 January 2020, WHO requested further information from national authorities to assess the risk. National authorities report that all patients are isolated and receiving treatment in Wuhan medical institutions. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever, with a few patients having difficulty in breathing, and chest radiographs showing invasive lesions of both lungs.
According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market. Based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigation team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported.
Public Health Response — National authorities have reported the following response measures: One hundred and twenty-one close contacts have been identified and are under medical observation; The follow-up of close contacts is ongoing; Pathogen identification and the tracing of the cause are underway; Wuhan Municipal Health Commission carried out active case finding, and retrospective investigations have been completed; Environmental sanitation and further hygiene investigations are under way.
⺞ WHO is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with national authorities in China. There is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster of pneumonia of unknown etiology. The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals.
⺞ The symptoms reported among the patients are common to several respiratory diseases, and pneumonia is common in the winter season; however, the occurrence of 44 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization clustered in space and time should be handled prudently.
⺞ Wuhan city, with a population of 19 million, is the capital city of Hubei province, with a population of 58 million people. WHO has requested further information on the laboratory tests performed and the differential diagnoses considered.
⺞ Based on information provided by national authorities, WHO’s recommendations on public health measures and surveillance of influenza and severe acute respiratory infections still apply.
⺞ WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share travel history with their healthcare provider.
⺞ WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information available on this event.
⺞ BIG FRIKEN MISTAKE KILLED 5 MILLION PEOPLE
⺞ Infectious Diseases Are Not New In China — Spread Of HIV/Aids — HIV/AIDS was first reported in China in 1985 and by 1998 infection had spread to all 31 provinces. The 2007 estimate suggests that about 700 000 people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 50 000 new infections per year. The Chinese Government has identified HIV/AIDS as a major threat to public health. The continuing challenges in the control of HIV/AIDS are outlined in a review by Zhang and colleagues in this Series.
⺞ SARS - An Airborne Pathogen — The first new infectious disease identified in the 21st century was caused by the SARS coronavirus—an airborne pathogen. The first cases of SARS were retrospectively identified in Guangdong Province in November, 2002. Infection spread within Guangdong and to Hong Kong, then from Hong Kong to other parts of the world. Simultaneously, SARS spread to other provinces in China, including Beijing (in March, 2003), resulting in the world's largest local SARS epidemic. Overall, China reported 5327 of 8071 (66%) cases and 349 of 776 (45%) deaths from the 2003 worldwide SARS epidemic. After some delay in response, the government mobilised the entire country to control the spread of the epidemic. After successful containment in June, 2003, three other laboratory-related outbreaks occurred in Beijing, Singapore, and Taiwan. The origin of the virus was never identified, but studies suggest that bats might serve as the animal reservoir and that civet cats might have been the immediate source of the virus that infected people.
⺞ Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) — The first human cases of avian influenza caused by the H5N1 strain were reported in Hong Kong in 1997, but the initial outbreak was contained by the rapid public-health response.
Since then, outbreaks have occurred in poultry or wild birds, or both, in at least 55 countries. By April, 2008, 382 human avian influenza cases (241 fatal) were documented in 14 countries. Mainland China has had 88 avian influenza outbreaks in poultry and birds in 23 provinces, and it reported its first human avian influenza case in November, 2003. By the end of April, 2008, a total of 30 human cases and 20 deaths had been reported.
⺞ Streptococcus Suis — Streptococcus suis (a microbe that occurs in pigs) caused the largest ever reported outbreak of infection in people in Sichuan province, China in 2005. The pathogen identified as causing human disease was a highly virulent clone. A total of 215 human cases were reported, with 38 deaths. Most cases were previously healthy adult male farmers who had been in contact with sick pigs or their products. No person-to-person transmission was noted. Cases have also been reported in Vietnam, Thailand, the Netherlands, and other countries with intensive pig rearing.
⺞ Zoonoses And Infectious Disease Emergence — Zoonoses—infections transmitted from animals to people—such as, SARS and avian influenza, are prominent in emerging infections in China and worldwide. Domestic and wild animals are sources of well characterised and new microbial threats to people. The increasing size and density of populations with the expanding interface between people and animals provide increased opportunities for previously unknown microbes to enter the human population.
As wealth has increased in China, consumption of animal protein has increased and the number of animals raised for food, especially pigs and poultry, has expanded rapidly. Between 1968 and 2005, the increase in the human population was less than two-fold (790 million to 1·3 billion), whereas it was almost 100-fold (5·2 million to 508 million) in the pig population and more than 1000-fold (12·3 million to 13 billion) in the poultry population.35 In China, as in most other developing countries, these animals are raised in close association with people, increasing the risk of transmission from animal to people.
The interest of the Chinese people in exotic food further increases the risk of transmission of infection from animals to people. Animals that previously were not used for food consumption are readily available in Chinese markets, in which live animals of diverse species might have contact with people and each other. People can come into contact with the microbial flora of animals through raising, collection, transportation, trade, slaughter, preparation, and consumption of animals and their products.
Movement of live animals and trade across borders are the other routes by which pathogens can reach new animal and human populations. Animals and birds that migrate or fly and are not confined in closed spaces share their microbial flora with other species. For example, studies show viruses that infect bats can cause disease and death in other species, including people. Other examples include the SARS coronavirus and the Nipah virus, which have caused outbreaks in other Asian countries. Other microbes not yet characterized but which might be pathogenic to people exist in animal populations. A related concern is that the increased use of antimicrobial drugs (including antiviral drugs) in animal populations could affect resistance profiles of bacteria and viruses that infect people. The Strepto - suis strains implicated in the outbreaks in China have acquired tetracycline resistance.
⺞ Outcomes Of Emerging Infectious Diseases — Although the emerging infectious diseases in China have not resulted in large epidemics, they are important because of their potential for swift national and international spread if not quickly detected and contained; Obviously COVID had not been active yet.
The spread of SARS is perhaps the best example to date. With less than 8000 cases worldwide, the SARS outbreak clearly showed how a new infectious disease can cause social instability and economic disruption with repercussions worldwide.
The outbreak is estimated to have resulted in a total loss of US — $25·3 billion to China's economy and a 1–2% drop in China's gross domestic product growth rate for 2003. Although the circulating H5N1 avian influenza virus does not transmit well from person to person, it could undergo genetic change that would affect transmissibility, or another influenza virus with pandemic potential could emerge.
Because of the potential for quick national and international spread of emerging infectious diseases, rapid detection and containment will be needed to prevent an epidemic or pandemic. Unusual and new infections might be highly visible, can provoke anxiety, disrupt travel and trade, and lead people to flee to try to avoid them. Resolution of these types of difficulties requires good science, surveillance, implementation of effective interventions; and an effective communication system to inform the at-risk communities and to educate them about the appropriate measures to be taken.
The enactment of the International Health Regulation is designed to improve communication and coordination between countries so that early reporting and response to emerging infectious diseases can take place. China is committed to implementing this new regulation.
The importance of China in addressing emerging infectious diseases and being part of the worldwide surveillance and response network is highlighted by evidence suggesting that H3N2 influenza viruses originating in east and southeast Asia each year subsequently seed influenza virus epidemics worldwide.42
⺞ ADDITIONAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES FOUND IN CHINA
Plague
Epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis
Scarlet fever
Epidemic encephalitis B (Japanese encephalitis)
Malaria
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever (hantavirus haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome)
Hook-worm diseases
Brucellosis
Rabies
Anthrax
Hepatitis (A,B,C,E, other)
Diphtheria
Pertussis
Poliomyelitis
Measles
Dysentery
Cholera
Typhoid and paratyphoid
Dengue fever (1990)
Gonorrhoea (1990)
Syphilis (1990)
AIDS (1990)
Tetanus Neonatorum (1996)
HIV infection (1997)
Tuberculosis (1997)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (2004)
Schistosomiasis (2005)
Human avian influenza (2005)
⺞ Past notifiable diseases (notified from 1970–89)
Smallpox
Relapsing fever
Tsutsugamushi disease
Forest encephalitis (tickborn encephalitis)
Influenza
⺞ Past notifiable diseases (notified from 1970–2004)
Ship-fever (mainly louse-borne typhus)
Kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis)
ED: ⺞ Is the Japanese symbol for “ radical death, decay, bad or vicious" and one of the 34 Kangxi radicals composed of four strokes. in the Kangxi Dictionary there are 231 characters to be found under this radical -The dictionary contains 49,030 characters.