Avian Flu: Beijing Hospitals Take Precautions

You may have already heard, but H7N9, a strain of bird flu not yet found in humans, has been reported in Shanghai, according to several media reports. Two men, aged 27 and 87 have died from the virus, while five additional people in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces have been infected. The Beijing Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Health announced Tuesday that medical facilities in the city will be gearing up to prepare for a scenario where the avian flu is contracted in Beijing.

While nothing has been confirmed, Businessweek has reported that social media rumors regarding the bird flu being in Beijing are already gaining momentum:

In the age of social media, however, rumors that bird flu has come to Beijing are flying fast and thick, setting off a wave of popular panic. In particular, a widely circulated post on Tencent’s (700) social-media platform Weixin suggests that avian flu victims may have already been admitted to Beijing’s Dongzhimen Hospital. Some anxious workers in Beijing are opting to work from home, ingest Vitamin C supplements, and take further precautions believed to minimize the risk of becoming infected. In a nation whose citizens have learned to routinely distrust official media, it is hard to contain public fear. And those fears may just turn out to be justified.

Businessweek also reported that Shanghai public health authorities are looking for a connection between the deaths of the 16,000 pigs in the Huangpu river and H7N9, but that its "not expected" that the two would be related.

Stay tuned for more updates on the bird flu, and in the meantime, here are some general tips for staying healthy in Beijing.

Photo: Sonya >> 搜你丫 on Flickr