# 546
Yesterday I blogged on the new study which traces the origins of the H5N1 virus to Guangdong Province in China. I also compared this study to the story from last fall of how the Chinese reacted to the naming of a new strain of H5N1, called the Fujian-like strain, and suggested this new report would anger Chinese officials.
Over night, we got the Chinese `official' reaction to the story, and they are not happy campers.
Guangdong not the source of bird flu
Latest Updated by 2007-03-07 16:13:05
The Guangdong provincial authorities of agriculture and health yesterday denied foreign researchers claims that the southern province is the source of the dangerous H5N1 avian flu virus.
"The findings, which say Guangdong is the source of multiple avian flu virus strains spreading both regionally and internationally, are the wrong conclusion to the evidence and lack credibility," He Xia, a spokeswoman for the Guangdong Provincial Agricultural Department, told China Daily.
The claim that Guangdong has given birth to bird flu was made by a research team from the University of California Irvine, and published in US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings are based on samples of the virus taken from across China and Russia, and appear to show that the basic version of the virus is a form seen in Guangdong.
They also appear to show that Northwest China's Qinghai Province is another source of bird flu.
The recent findings came after another study, conducted by a joint team of foreign and Chinese researchers, published in the same journal early in February last year.
The findings last year also indicated that the nationwide spread of bird flu grew out of Guangdong in 1996.
"Actually, Guangdong did not witness any bird flu cases in 1996. As a result, the findings are not based on facts," said He.
Yu Dewen, spokesman with the Guangdong Provincial Health Department, added that so far no official research has indicated that bird flu originated in Guangdong.
Apparently, the stigma of being the source of the virus is of more concern to the Chinese government than finding the truth, and perhaps, a way to avert further outbreaks. This kneejerk reaction is eerily similar to last year's Fujian-like strain damage control.
After the Asian Flu of 1957 and the Hong Kong Flu of 1968, I suppose a third pandemic traced to Chinese soil is just too much. Particularly with the 2008 Summer Olympics just 17 months away. And by all accounts, the Chinese are determined to put on a fresh `face' for this event and are desperate to avoid any bad publicity.
While saving face is an important concept to the Chinese, refusing to accept reality could prove to be a tragic mistake. By knowing the source, there is a chance further research might reveal a way to stop these mutations from coming out of Guangdong Province.
But that can't happen until the Chinese accept the scientific evidence, and act on it.
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