The lesson China supposedly learned from the SARS epidemic was clear: honesty is the best policy when dealing with a dangerous epidemic. But last week, as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared SARS all but eliminated in China, the muffled news of another outbreak showed that the mainland may still treat health as a state secret. Southern China is suffering a severe outbreak of the deadly mosquito-borne disease Japanese encephalitis. As of June 27, Guangdong, the worst-hit province, had 287 cases, with 23 deaths, while Guanxi, Hainan and Hunan all reported a handful of additional cases. Japanese encephalitis, a virus...
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