Swine Flu Pedia

When swine flu (H1N1) came knocking on Asia’s door, China’s and Japan’s crisis management skills were duly tested. The way in which the two nations communicate in emergency situations in particular deserves a closer look - neither gets a passing grade.

Thankfully, no lives have been lost, at least so far, in either country. Despite lots of practice, when it comes to public health-oriented incident management, both Japan and China can tell that much work still needs to be done.

Several dozen Mexicans have now returned home wishing to forget how China swiftly singled them out once a confirmed case of H1N1 surfaced in Hong Kong. China has explained its response as a prudent public health measure, but it has demonstrated once again that what you do is often not as important as how you do it. A pivotal event took place on April 30, when China’s Health Minister Chen Zhu told the country and the world that China was fully prepared to handle H1N1.

Source from Asia Times Online