Transparency key to preventing virus
- Source: The Global Times
- [00:35 April 28 2009]
- Comments
Up to 103 deaths in suspected swine flu cases have been reported in Mexico, the epicenter of the global outbreak of the deadly virus. Suspected cases are also being reported in the United States, Canada, France and Spain.
Although there have been no cases reported in China as of now, lessons learned from past experience tell that authorities should guarantee the transparency of information to efficiently prevent and control the spread of the flu in China. At present, the situation is not satisfactory.
No accurate information on flights between Mexico and China has been released yet, and no follow-up survey or investigation has been conducted to make sure the people who came to China from Mexico in the past two weeks are not infected.
It seems every few years we have to battle one of these mysterious plagues, but this latest flu is especially troubling because it is a brand new strain, and seems to also affect the young and healthy. With the virus spreading all over the world, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic alert level is set at phase three.
The organization said the alert level could be raised to phase four if the virus shows a sustained ability to pass from human-to-human. Measures have been taken by the WHO and national and local governments in the affected areas to prevent the spread of the flu.
The key to preventing the spread of this type of illness is to effectively cut off the route of transmission. A critical component of this process is to put more emphasis on making information publicly available, and making certain that the information is accurate.
China has considerable commercial exchange and cultural interaction with Mexico. And with the large internal flow of its own mammoth population, China perhaps faces more potential risk than many other countries.
To control and limit the danger of an outbreak of such an illness, the more information the public is provided with the better equipped we will be as a country and as a society to decrease its potential impact.
Six years ago, initial efforts by lower-ranking officials to limit the flow of information on SARS – both to higher-up government officials, and to the public at large – led to fear and uncertainty within the populace, and to a wider spread of the disease than would otherwise have happened.
Only after a free flow of needed information was established were the government and the people able to come together to effectively fight and control the spread of SARS. Similarly, as the world faces another serious public health crisis, China must remember the lessons it learned from the SARS experience: that transparency of information is essential for combating the spread of an infectious outbreak.
China should take this as an opportunity to enhance such transparency of information. This will also help the people and the government reinforce the level of trust and confidence they have in each other.