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)