Posted on 06/25/2003 8:50:11 PM PDT by Enemy Of The State
| China's Vice-Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said Wednesday that the country has made key progress in vaccines, drugs and diagnostic kits for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The science sector had achieved significant progress, including the development of a primate infection model, said Li, who is also the deputy team leader of the science and technology group attached to the national anti-SARS command team. The laboratory preparation for two types of inactivated vaccines had been completed and the test of inactivated vaccines on primate animals were underway successfully, he said. Headway had also been made in diagnostic kits and genetic chips, which were being clinically evaluated, Li said. The therapy, which combined traditional Chinese and Western medicines, had showed noticeable effects, Li said, adding that bio-protection products and bio-protection equipment had been developed and have effectively helped reduce infections by health workers. The achievements in epidemiology research had provided a reliable base for disease control measures, he said, adding a research platform for SARS prevention, control and treatment had taken initial shape. In particular, the assessment of P3 laboratories, featuring higher bio-safety levels, had been completed, and related construction work had been finished to meet the needs of laboratories dedicated to research of SARS prevention, control and treatment, he said. China's anti-SARS research to address three problemsChina's anti-SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) research will study SARS transmission patterns and epidemiological prevention, develop vaccines and anti-virus drugs, and develop a diagnostic kit for epidemiological investigation and clinical differentiation.He said the national anti-SARS research sector, consisting of ten government departments, will shift its focus from urgent research and short-term goals to key problems and medium to long-term projects. Since its establishment on April 25 this year, the research sector has initiated 95 projects involving 3,000 science and technology staff and 120 million RMB investment, and has made substantial achievements in SARS diagnosis and treatment. As for vaccine research based on genetic technology, the China National Biological Products Corporation (CNBPC), the country's largest bio-tech company, plans to spend 500 million yuan (US$60.46 million) developing vaccines against SARS. The first 50 million yuan (US$6 million) has been invested in the early stage of the project, according to CNBPC General Manager Wang Guoli. The money will be spent in improving and rebuilding labs and production facilities for SARS vaccines, flu vaccines, blood treatments and other biological products, Wang said. The company is carrying out three SARS-related research projects and has invested another 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in developing SARS detection methods, blood serums against the virus and relevant vaccines. Li Xueyong said China's success in fighting against SARS has partly relied on international co-operation. He noted that it took only three months to map out the genetic sequence of the SARS virus due to the joint efforts made by scientists from a host of different countries. "We must strengthen co-operation with international partners to battle diseases and that's an important lesson we've drawn from this two-month struggle," said Li. International co-operation would continue to be important for future vaccines and genetic research,Li stressed. He added that each country provides different strengths in SARS treatment, which are mutually complementary. |
I wonder if China still uses prisoners for experiments.
Shouldn't the Chinese have invented this vaccine FIRST before they released SARS as a 'bioengineered' bioterrorism weapon - or are they so clever so as to release it NOW in order to make it 'look like' they just made this discovery?
CLEVER those Chinese ...
</sarcasm>
China's SARS victory questionedMIRACLE: Health officials wondered how Beijing managed to go from 300 new cases a day to zero in less than a month, prompting the WHO to lift its warnings on China
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003,Page 3
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"China will `contaminate' the functions of the WHO if it continues to oppress Taiwan." |
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Lin Chia-lung, Cabinet spokesman |
Lee Ming-liang, vice convener of the Cabinet's SARS Control and Relief Committee, yesterday was puzzled by how China was removed list of affected areas. The WHO simultaneously lifted its travel advisory on Beijing.
Lee said Beijing's performance was so incredible that it was inexplicable in the light of public-health theory.
"During the peak on May 6, there were still 300 new SARS cases each day in Beijing. How come on May 31, there were suddenly zero cases. It means China contained the disease in less than one month, which is unbelievable," Lee said.
Lee said that during the peak in Hong Kong and Singapore, there were 156 and 22 cases respectively. But it took more than two months for these two areas to get the disease under control.
"On May 6, Taiwan's SARS cases were only one-fifth of those in Beijing. It also took-three-and-half weeks for Taiwan to contain SARS," Lee said. " I really have no idea how China made it."
Yu yesterday called on China to stop suppressing Taiwan in the political and medical arenas and called on the WHO not to cave in to China's pressure to exclude 23 million Taiwanese from the international medical network.
"China will `contaminate' the functions of the WHO if it continues to oppress Taiwan. Its bullying will not only make Taiwanese people detest it even more but also create a backlash in the international community," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung quoted Yu as saying yesterday morning after the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting.
According to Lin, China made the WHO change the name "Taiwan" to "Taiwan Province, China" in a report filed by the medical experts dispatched by the WHO to Taipei, recommending the global health body to remove the country from the travel advisory list.
"Examples like this highlight that we're under the suppression of China at every turn," Lin said.
Taiwan was removed from the list on June 17 -- 41 days after the WHO issued the travel warning against the country on May 8.
Despite the continued pressure, Lin said the nation will continue to participate in international events, including APEC's health ministers' meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Bangkok.
According to Lin, Department of Health Director-General Chen Chien-jen, who is scheduled to leave today, will represent the nation at the meeting.
Lin said that the government is set to lift various control measures imposed on visitors from Hong Kong and Macau today and on Beijing on Monday or Tuesday next week.
Was this a result of finally getting some definitive tests and test methodology in place so every case of respiratory infection that walks inside the hospital door wouldn't simply be classified SARS by hospital personnel -
<sarcasm>
- or was their 'point' made (to whomever - various 'world powers', bankers, would politicos) so they could 'feel free' to turn off the 'tap' that was producing SARS?
</sarcasm>
Shouldn't the Chinese have invented this vaccine FIRST before they released SARS as a 'bioengineered' bioterrorism weapon - or are they so clever so as to release it NOW in order to make it 'look like' they just made this discovery?
CLEVER those Chinese ...
Not so clever. Their trying to prove that they can always satisfy the demand through enforced state production is shot down by the coming of a virus. Now if they try to build viral strains to scam people into believing that China can meet such prescient crystal ball seen demand by doing such scams, it will bite them and the world in the arse.
This is the danger of communism ultimately. Because, you see, to bioegineer a virus, the virus itself must inherently be open to mutations and lab modifications. So, bioengineered viral weapons get easily out of control. If they are not smart enough and that they rely instead on a "smart" virus, this charade is going to be very dangerous.
Perhaps we need to question if any information coming out of China can be considered valid at all?
I suggest we forget about trying to find anything useful in the "news" that China chooses to "share" with the world.
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