No Sichuan Pork Please - H5N1 Captain Trips?

In today's news release from Sichuan: Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Communist Party Committee Zhang Xuezhong reassured the public that the infection has been brought under control.

"Pork from the infected areas is banned from export. This swine streptococcus bacterium does not transmit among humans, and only people with open wounds who come into contact with sick pigs can catch it. So there is no need to panic."

The total number of cases is now 117 with 24 deaths. As of earlier today, 26 Jul 2005, 5 of the patients have been said to have confirmed S. suis type 2 which is being blamed for the entire outbreak of 117 cases.

I only have a couple of "small" problems with this. First, 5 confirmed cases do not speak for the other 112 cases.

Second, as claimed Strep Suis Type 2 is BACTERIAL and "only people with open wounds...can catch it".

If so, riddle me this Batman, how did the BACTERIA spread throughout 75 villages and 40 towns?

Third, after the BACTERIA spread over such a wide area, "the bacterium does not spread human to human". That means only PIG TO HUMAN transmission is possible.

Alrighty then, everyone must have had cuts when they handled already infected pigs, across the whole contagion zone, right? Sure thing, sounds pretty realistic to me.

No more Sichuan pork and no more Chinese Health Ministry bullshit, please. How stupid do they think we are.

Comments