China’s Latest Outbreak Is Giving Neighbors PTSD
Many are finding it hard to trust that Beijing is telling the truth. Countries need to avoid panic and focus on preparedness.
Focus on prevention, not paranoia.
Source: Bloomberg
When reports began emerging late last week of a respiratory disease outbreak in China, some countries were quick to press the panic button. Another mysterious virus spreading in China, screamed the headline from an Indian popular news site. China’s mystery disease scare reaches India, said another. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, perhaps still stung by criticism of his government’s failures during the Covid pandemic, told hospitals to be on alert and review their preparedness for another potential outbreak.
But based on information provided by China to the World Health Organization, it is not a mystery, nor is it a virus. Instead, the illness is thought to be a cocktail of winter bugs, among them mycoplasma pneumoniae — bacteria that can cause mild infections of the respiratory system.