Over the weekend, a girlfriend said her girlfriend will be going on a Silk Road package tour middle of next month. Horrors! There is no turning back now as everything has been paid for. She assured that they will not be anywhere near Beijing or Shanghai, if that's helpful.
China is a popular travel destination for Malaysians particular the Chinese community, many of whom speak and write the language and who may still have relatives in China. Family relations aside, China is still a fascinating country to visit.
Malaysia is right now heading towards the polls so we see more news coverage of matters concerning politics and none or very little of this new bird flu, the H7N9, of which infection is currently found concentrated in eastern provinces in China. Here, this could be a case of no news is good news, perhaps, but it is still good to have current update on this flu that health authorities fear of it becoming pandemic should the virus become transmissible human-to-human. As of now, there is no human-to-human transmission reported.
Bloomberg reported yesterday that
Beijing confirmed that a 7-year-old girl has H7N9 avian influenza and Henan province reported its first two cases, opening a new front in the spread of the virus in the world’s most populous nation.
Shanghai said today two people infected with the strain of bird flu died, taking the country’s death toll to 13. The city also reported three fresh infections today while the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang also confirmed new cases, raising the national tally to 60 from 49 yesterday.
More..China Bird-Flu Deaths Rise to 13 as H7N9 Virus Spreads
so you are also joining your sisters on the Silk Road next month?? wow, that would be so interesting!! looking forward to your travelogue when you return, if that's possible?? :p
ReplyDeleteNo way! May is too close to take that risk. I'm still considering whether to go or not to Shanghai in Oct.
ReplyDeletesigh...sooner or later it will spread to here...just hope they have vacine for it
DeleteI sure hope not. Vaccine won't be available until months later.
DeleteTravelling on the Silk Road ... that's been a lifelong dream.
ReplyDeleteI read about the new bird flu strains. That worries me far more than North Korean temper tantrums. (>_<)
Silk Road brings to mind adventure, history and new insights doesn't it? I hope your dream will come true in the not-too-distant future.
DeleteI hear you about the bird flu. I received word that the situation is worse than what we (on the outside) know. What we can do as suggested is to wash our hands more frequently.
The danger of H7N9 is that it can be spread by migratory birds...
ReplyDeleteAnd that is worrisome too. Thanks for sharing that.
DeleteI would love to travel to China - so many places to go! But I need a Mandarin speaking friend or I won't survive in that country! LOL!
ReplyDelete