China Alerts.

[Pineau]

I think this could be useful thread to the travelers to China. A good place to post warning and dangerous situation that is not in the news media at large.
If you find anything noteworthy that could help the others avoid trouble the please post it here. Please time stamp it.



Health warning from the department of state April 4 2013.
GuangzhouACS@state.gov

As of April 4, the Chinese authorities confirmed 14 cases of a new strain of avian influenza (H7N9) in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui. A small number of new cases have been reported each day since Sunday, March 31 when three cases were initially reported by the Chinese authorities. Thus far, no human-to-human transmission has been reported and no link has been found between the laboratory-confirmed cases. Individuals in close contact with the infected were tested and the results have all been negative.
 
The Chinese authorities are actively monitoring and investigating this situation and have heightened disease surveillance. At this point the risk for international disease spread is considered low.  The latest advisory from the World Health Organization as of April 4 is that no travel or trade restrictions with China should be applied based on the current information.
 
How can I protect myself and my family?
Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing.
Wash your hands frequently, especially before and after preparing foods and before eating.
Thoroughly cook all poultry and poultry products, including eggs.
Avoid contact with sick animals and do not go to live animal markets or farms.
 
What are the signs and symptoms?
The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the flu virus. Flu is different from the cold and the symptoms come on suddenly. Symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue, headache, body aches are some of the symptoms associated with the flu.
 
What should I do if I have the flu?
Most individuals who get the flu will recover within a few days but some people can develop complications. Individuals with certain lung problems such as asthma or COPD, those with diabetes, heart disease and those over the age of 65 are at a greater risk of developing complications.
 
If you do get the flu:
Stay hydrated. If you get sick with flu symptoms and are at high risk of flu complications or you are concerned about your illness, call your health care provider for advice. You should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other things you have to do and no one else can do for you. You should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.
 
Where can I find more information?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is following this situation closely and coordinating with domestic and international partners in a number of areas, including gathering more information to make a knowledgeable public health risk assessment and developing a candidate vaccine virus. All of these actions are routine preparedness measures taken whenever a new novel influenza virus is detected in humans.
 
CDC will provide updated information as it becomes available.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h7n9-virus.htm   
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention also provides regular updates on the ongoing developments. You can view the information at http://www.chinacdc.cn and http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/. 
We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in China enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at https://step.state.gov/step. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. Embassy or nearest U.S. Consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don't have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Regularly monitor the State Department's website at http://travel.state.gov, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for China at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html. For additional information, refer to "A Safe Trip Abroad" on the State Department's website.
Contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free from within the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Follow us on Twitter at https://mobile.twitter.com/travelgov and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/travelgov, and download our free Smart Traveler iPhone App at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smart-traveler/id442693988?mt=8 to have travel information at your fingertips.
The American Citizen Services unit of the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou is located at 5/F Tian Yu Garden (II Phase), 136-142 Lin He Zhong Lu, Tianhe District, Guangzhou. For the American Citizen Services operation hours, please refer to our website: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/contact_us.html.  If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance, the emergency number for the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou is (86) (10) 8531-4000.

[IrishGuy65]

Hongping was just telling me about this, and I was getting ready to do some research.  Thanks, Gerry, for doing the research for me 

[shaun]

Thanks for the info Gerry.

[Pineau]

Don't become a statistic. Follow the recommendations listed.

[Willy The Londoner]

I have seen this on TV. 

Very worrying! 

It means that there are only 1,399.999.984 that have not contracted it.

Do not be too worried!  You have more chance of winning a lottery jackpot three weeks running than contracting it or in getting shot by a Mongolian Midget in Memphis.

The people who have contracted it are all people who have close connections with chickens in a working environment. 
So let that be a warning. Keep away from the Chicks!!!!

Willy

[john1964]

hi guys, not had time to read this post but it is told not to eat pork, eggs, chicken, beef, duck, i have also been told of a few deaths in Hangzhou where we are now, much is kept from the news here to avoid panic, 570 heads of cattle from Shuhou are infected with Bacillus, Anthrax .
THIS IS WORDS FROM A GOOD FRIEND TONIGHT......AVIAN FLU IS VERY SERIOUS, AT A BEIJING UNION MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL LEADERSHIP DINNER TONIGHT,, OUTSIDE NEWS HAS BEEN BLOCKED FROM THE MEDIA, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO DRUG THERAPY, WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY, DO NOT EAT PORK, EGGS AND AND POULTRY ...John.
PS, MY FRIEND IS VERY WELL KNOWN IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, IF I HEAR ANY  MORE NEWS I WILL POST .

[Robertt S]

Here is a question and answer list from the Chinese Disease Control Center concerning the  A(H7N9) influenza virus.

1. What is A(H7N9) avian influenza virus? 　　There are three types of influenza viruses – A, B and C. Human influenza A and B cause seasonal epidemics. The natural reservoir of all influenza A viruses are birds. Influenza A viruses can infect humans, birds, mammals and other animals. 　　Influenza A viruses are divided into 2 subtypes, based on viral surface proteins, i.e. hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are currently 16 known HA subtypes (H1-16) and 9 known NA subtypes (N1-9) with many possible combination of HA and NA proteins. 　　Influenza AH7 can have 9 subgroups (i.e. H7N1-9) Most H7 viruses identified worldwide were in wild birds and poultry. H7 in humans in uncommon but has een documented in persons who have direct contact with infected birds, especially during outbreaks of H7 virus in poultry. 　　From 1996 to 2009, human infections with H7 influenza were reported in Netherlands, Italy, Canada, USA and England, the pathogen of which were H7N2, H7N3, and H7N7, and the cases mostly presented conjunctivitis and mild upper respiratory. So far, there have been no human infections with H7 influenza viruses reported in China. 　 　More importantly, H7N9 had only been previously isolated in birds, and outbreaks among birds were only reported in Netherlands, Japan and USA. 　　2. How many human cases infected with H7N9 influenza virus have been reported in China to date? 　　As of 30 March 2013, we report 3 confirmed cases detected in China including 2 fatal cases from Shanghai and 1 case from Anhui who is currently hospitalized. The onset dates of the 3 cases lie between 24-February and 15-March. 　　3. What are the main symptoms of human infection with A(H7N9) avian virus? 　　The three confirmed cases presented all with acute pneumonia whose symptoms include acute fever onset, high fever, cough and respiratory tract infection symptoms at the early stage of the disease. Five to seven days of disease onset, the patients developed severe pneumonia i.e. breathing difficulties and some progressed rapidly into acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. 　　Currently, our knowledge about the clinical characteristics of disease was limited, whether the infection can cause mild or other clinical presentation was still not clear. The understanding of the disease will change accordingly as more information accumulates. 　　4. Is the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus like H1N1 and H5N1 seasonal influenza virus? 　　As only 3 confirmed cases of human infection with H7N9 influenza virus has identified globally, the research material for the virus itself and the disease it caused are rather limited. The accurate judgments to the virulence and the transmission ability among humans haven’t been achieved yet. 　　5. Where has the human infection with A(H7N9) avian influenza virus come from? 　　The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of infection of the 3 cases. A(H7N9) virus is an avian influenza viruses, and according to the previous outbreak reports, the source of the human infection with influenza virus A subtype H7 probably is poultry. 　　6. Can A(H7N9) avian influenza virus transmitted from person to person? 　　Given the limited number of confirmed cases to date, it is still uncertain how this virus is being transmitted from birds. Epidemiology links between the 3 confirmed cases haven’t been discovered. Investigation is ongoing, but so far no further cases were identified among the contacts of the case. Up to date, no subclinical infections have been determined from all the blood taken in contacts. But we cannot rule out the possibility of human to human transmission until we know more about the virus characteristics and results from ongoing investigations. 　　7. Has any close contacts become ill or dead? 　　According to China’s regulations on management of the unknown pneumonia, the Departments of Health in Shanghai, Anhui and Jiangsu have implemented strictly medical observation to all the close contacts of the confirmed cases. All the close contacts of the confirmed cases from Shanghai and Anhui haven’t show the similar symptom so far. 　　8. How to prevent from being infected with A(H7N9) avian influenza virus? 　　 Influenza is an acute respiratory infection disease. It could be prevented through hands-washing, indoor ventilating, as well as balanced-diet and keeping fit. In order to avoid transmitting the virus to the other person, the nose and mouth should be covered by tissue or handkerchief while sneezing or coughing. In addition, special attention should be paid to keep off the sick and dead poultry and livestock. 　　To date, there is no vaccine developed for the prevention of H7N9 influenza virus transmission. 　　9. Is there a treatment for the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus? 　　Antigenic and genome sequence analyses indicate that the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus is sensitive to the neuraminidase inhibitors anti-influenza virus drugs. The usage of neuraminidase inhibitors anti-influenza virus drugs in the early stage of the infection has been proved to be effective, but whether it is the specific treatment to the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus infection needs further investigation. 　　10. What can I do to protect myself? 　　Respiratory infection disease such as Influenza could be prevented through hands-washing and covering the nose and mouth while sneezes and coughs. In addition, you should try to keep away from the sick and dead poultry and livestock. 　　11. Is general population at risk from the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus? 　　The 3 cases are not epidemiologically linked. There is currently no evidence of infection in close contacts, the risk associated with A(H7N9) avian influenza virus to the general population remains low. 　　12. Are health care workers at risk from the A(H7N9) avian influenza virus? 　　Since health care workers have better chance to contact with patients suffering from infectious diseases than the general population, they should employ the proper infection control measures while diagnosing and treating the patients. When receiving the suspect or confirmed H7N9 cases, the effective infection control measures including standard precautions plus droplet precautions plus contact precautions should be taken properly. 　　13. What kinds of the control measures and investigation had been implemented? 　　The local health authorities pay high attention to the event. The treatment of patients, field epidemiological investigation, specimen collection and inspection, medical observation to the close contacts, and the enhancement of surveillance for the pneumonia cases of unknown origin have already being carried out. 　　After receiving the case reports and the sample collected from the patients, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention had carried out risk assessment for potential spread. The laboratory identification and confirmation have been performed timely. Genetic characteristics of the newly identified virus in humans in currently being analyzed to determine potential factors that can explain transmission from birds to humans. 　　Due to constant evolving nature of influenza viruses, China participated in the WHO associated global monitoring of influenza viruses in animals and people. H7N9 as an avian influenza newly discovered in humans, has been reported to WHO under IHR (2005). Here is the link for China's CDC......http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/     or    http://www.chinacdc.cn/

[Pineau]

Shanghai reports two more H7N9 cases
Two more people were confirmed infected with the deadly H7N9 bird flu strain that has claimed the lives of six people nationwide, local authorities said Saturday.China 'more transparent' in handling epidemics China's confirmed H7N9 cases isolated UN praises China's quick notification of H7N9

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/06/content_16378838.htm

the society page also has a few more articles about this.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/society.html

Starting to get a lot of attention in the media now and some real news is starting to leak out.
http://news.qq.com/zt2013/H7N9/index.htm

[Pineau]

Latest warning from the dept of state in Guangzhou

  http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/avian-flu-h7n9-china.htm

[brett]

Well I'm not sure about the bird flu thing but I've noticed the live poultry have disappeared from outside the restaurants in my neighborhood.

If you're coming to Guangdong a bigger threat is the weather. Just be aware that the weather can change here astoundingly quickly. Carry an umbrella everywhere you go!

This site is useful for weather warnings:

http://www.prdweather.net/forecast.htm?fdt=true

The most rain I've seen since I've been here probably amounted to 3 inches in a single afternoon. Well that would suck if you decided to climb Baiyun mountain that day!!! I was downtown at the time and it took me a whole week to dry my shoes out And obviously lightning is a risk - yesterday's storm amounted to something like 100 lightning flashes a minute at the peak - it was really impressive to watch.

[Willy The Londoner]

30 mins of rain!

This week we have had days where it has rained so hard so several hours at a time that it has been difficult to see across the road.  Luckily, last year,  they had upgraded the drainage in the street outside

We had to remove the drain cover on the balcony so that more water could flow out so we could to stop the water coming over the threshold into the home.  I have been through the Monsoon in India but this week has been worst than that here.

Willy

[Willy The Londoner]

And the points was...........?

Willy

[fivetrout]

My first thought was...with the spitting, and pissing, and pet waste...a good cleansing like flooding is a good thing! Well, except to where it all eventually ends up maybe?

[Willy The Londoner]

And the points was...........?

Willy

 Holy Cow,

 The point was how much in such a short time.

 That's all

Oh I see.

Yes a women said those exact words to me once but is was not in McDonalds. 

Willy

[Robertt S]

I do not know if anyone here remembers the flooding in Guangzhou on May 7th 2010. My wife and I were on one of the last if not the last flight out of Guangzhou before the airport was shut down. Her interview was on May 4th, she was approved so we hung around to pick up the visa. The visa was delivered to the Post Office in Guangzhou on Thursday and we flew out early Friday morning. We took a cab because the shuttle bus to the airport was full with people wanting to leave ahead of the storms that were expected that day. We flew back to Qingdao and spent a quite night at home before my return flight to the USA the following morning. Here is an article about the flooding in Guangzhou for those that never heard about the event.

http://www.chinahush.com/2010/05/07/severe-rainstorm-questions-guangzhou-citys-drainage-system/