How hot is your dog?

[khaosworks]

PRC clamps down on SARS patients' doggy-eyed friends
2003-05-01

China is rounding up dogs and cats from SARS patients' homes and killing them for fear canines and felines will spread the deadly disease to humans, officials said yesterday.

Although veterinary experts said there is no evidence Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome can be transmitted to humans from household animals, the furry beasts are nevertheless coming under suspicion.

The Beijing city government recently issued an order for police to seize pets from homes where people have been infected with SARS, an official at the city's police department office in charge of pet control told AFP.

"Pets can spread diseases. People can take measures to prevent diseases being spread, but not pets," said the official.

"If a family has SARS and they have pets, we will catch and kill the pets regardless of whether they show SARS symptoms."

Authorities have already found several dogs with SARS, said the official, who declined to reveal her name.

Damn straight she declined to reveal her name, because she doesn't want to get canned like the former Health Minister did when she's found to be lying.

Okay, maybe the virus could have jumped species, but considering the Chinese track record on full disclosure, I'd like to see the paperwork, please. More likely, the Chinese government is desperate to prevent a panic, so it starts blaming anything and everything in sight - leading to another kind of panic, and really tragic stories like this one later on in the article:

A pet owner in Beijing's Fengtai district tossed his Pekinese dog from his six-floor apartment Monday because he suspected the dog had SARS, the Beijing Star Daily said Wednesday.

The dog had suffered from a high fever and had not eaten for days.

It did not die right away, but the man buried it alive, the report said, citing an official from the neighborhood committee.

Police later arrived to disinfect the burial site.

Sigh.

Comments

[amezri.livejournal.com]

I think China was secret developing some sort of biological weapon, which got out of control and you know the Chinese are not know for asking when they're in trouble. ("Help? I don't need help. What are you talking about? It's fine.")

Don't mind me. I'm just babbling.