The focus on China has increased after Beijing reported this week its first human cases of bird flu. There are currently two confirmed cases – a young boy in Hunan province and a woman in Anhui province who has died – as well as another suspected case, the boy’s sister. She has also died, and was cremated.
China’s leaders are confident the situation is under control. While on a tour of a vaccine development facility in Beijing on Thursday, Wen Jiabao, premier, said: “We conquered the Sars epidemic in 2003 and will surely conquer the bird flu virus.”…
While many experts agree the central government today is more forthcoming about public health matters, Beijing’s disclosure of bird flu information in recent weeks has at times been vague and conflicting.