# 2627
When we watch events from half a world away, particularly events that occur in countries where press freedoms are limited, our ability to discern details often falls short of what we would like.
We often have an imperfect perception of what is really going on.
A little more than 12 hours ago we learned that a 19-year-old woman from Beijing recently died of the H5N1 virus. She reportedly bought, and gutted, several ducks late last month. She fell ill, was hospitalized in late December, and died yesterday.
There are, reportedly, 116 close contacts of hers under observation.
Considering the freshness of these events, we are actually getting more detail out of China than is usual. There are some who are somewhat discomfited by this.
Over the next 24-72 hours, we will probably learn more details about this case. Some of the reporting will be spot-on, while some of it may not be completely accurate.
From a distance, it isn't always easy to tell which is which.
Earlier today, Xinhua, the state run press was reporting that:
The bureau said 116 people had been in close contact with the patient. One nurse who had been in contact with the patient suffered from fever. The nurse has recovered.
People, including healthcare workers, get fevers all the time. So this might be significant, or it might not. Hard to tell.
In the past couple of hours, however, UPI (United Press International) is reporting that a health care worker in contact with the victim contracted bird flu, but recovered.
If true, then this becomes a bigger story.
But is it true?
Or is this some kind of translation or reporting error?
Frankly, I doubt that anyone outside of the inner circle in Beijing knows for sure. I sure don't.
Here is the UPI report.
Woman Thought To Have Bird Flu Dies
by Staff
A woman suspected of having contracted bird flu has died, local health officials in Beijing said Tuesday.
<snip>
No bird flu case had been found in Langfang City so far, a spokesperson with China's Ministry of Agriculture told Xinhua.
The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said 116 people were in close contact with the victim. One healthcare professional in contact with Huang contracted bird flu, but recovered, the bureau said.
Beijing officials reported the incident to the World Health Organization, as well as health authorities in Hong Kong and Macao. Official also have begun bird flu prevention and control measures. (c) UPI
As of this writing (16:45 hrs EDT) the WHO hasn't updated their avian flu page with this case. Perhaps when they do, we'll get a clearer picture of the events transpiring in Beijing.
For now, about all we can do is gather and examine the reports that come out of this region, accepting that some may have agendas, or may be incomplete or even inaccurate at times, as we try to put the puzzle pieces together.
But as the world learned in 2003 during the early months of the SARS outbreak, when it comes to getting accurate news out of China, we are often relegated to peering through a glass darkly.
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