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 But global health experts said China has come a long way since 2003,
when it was accused of trying to cover up a major outbreak of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a previously unknown virus
believed to have emerged from the wet markets of Guangdong province
before spreading into major cities. As many as 774 people died in an
epidemic that reached nearly 30 countries.
Now, nearly 17 years later, government officials insist they have
learned from past mistakes as they try to contain the latest deadly
viral pneumonia strain, which has infected 440 people, mostly in
Wuhan city, and killed nine since it was first identified at the end
of last month.
Liu Heng, an adviser to China's cabinet said it took the country
about four or five months to announce the SARS outbreak to the
public, and this time it had taken less than a month.
"We are doing much better now... We are paying greater attention to
preventing the epidemic," he told reporters.
Li Bin, vice minister at the National Health Commission, told
reporters on Wednesday that since 2003, China had established
comprehensive new procedures to handle major health threats.
"With relatively complete prevention and control systems for sudden
and infectious diseases in place since SARS ... and with the support
of the broad masses of the public, we are confident of victory," he
said.
A key factor watched by experts both at home and overseas has been
the rapid disclosure of information about the genetic structure of
the virus and the way it has spread through the population.
Li said Beijing had learned from its experiences with SARS and was
now sharing all relevant data with international stakeholders,
including the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The speed with which this virus has been identified is testament to
changes in public health in China since SARS and strong global
coordination through the WHO," said Jeremy Farrar, a British
infectious diseases specialist who also worked on combating SARS.
BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE
Experts say the failures of SARS were caused by an under-resourced
and overcentralised health system with little experience of
infectious diseases and no information disclosure mechanisms. Local
governments were also reluctant to take responsibility for the rapid
spread of infections.
Beijing has since established the China Information System for
Disease Control and Prevention that hooks up hospitals and clinics
nationwide and reports outbreaks in real time. It has also set up
specific mechanisms for new pneumonia strains.
"China... has developed excellent disease surveillance systems since
SARS, including real-time emergency department surveillance for
severe acute respiratory infections, so this will help with rapid
identification of new cases," said Raina MacIntyre, head of the
biosecurity research programme at the Kirby Institute in Sydney.
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Vice-minister Li said China's health infrastructure was also now
better able to cope, with the country ready to deploy several
"back-up" hospitals that could be put into action should the number
of infected people spike further.
DISTRUST DIES HARD
The silence on the part of authorities during the early stages of
SARS helped create a rumor mill that sparked panic in several major
cities and brought the economy to a standstill. One estimate
suggested China's economy slowed by around 1-2 percentage points in
2003 as a result of SARS.
This time, officials have been warned they face public ignominy if
they cover up any infections, and the message throughout state media
has been about the need for greater transparency. Communist
Party-backed tabloid Global Times said on Wednesday that
"concealment would be a serious blow to the government's credibility
and might trigger greater social panic".
President Xi Jinping has vowed to curb the spread of the virus,
which has erupted just before the nation begins its biggest holiday
this week, the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions people
travel.
Nevertheless, some people said Chinese officials are cracking down
on those who spread news about the disease online.
Social media is still awash with cover-up claims, and some doubts
are still being expressed about the accuracy and timeliness of
China's data.
"We can only judge the information we are being provided and have no
way to determine if any information is not being disclosed," said
MacIntyre.
And the big test of lessons learned could be still to come, when new
year travel could create countless new vectors for the potential
transmission of the virus.
Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Centre for
International Security Studies at the University of Sydney, said
China has "come a long way" since the outbreak of SARS.
"I'm not sure that we could expect more of them at this stage in the
outbreak, particularly when they are understandably focused on
responding to the outbreak and trying to contain it ahead of the
Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations," he said.
(Additional reporting by Kate Kelland in London, Kevin Yao and Cate
Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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