Outbreak II?

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		LATEST COVER STORY Southeast Asia: Tigers No More?  Singapore: Lion in Winter  Economy: Facing Up to China July 7, 2003 Issue Past Issues Kim Jong Il June 30, 2003 ----------------- Harry Potter June 23, 2003 ----------------- Arthritis June 16, 2003 ----------------- Narco Korea June 9, 2003 ----------------- Nature vs. Nurture June 2, 2003 ----------------- Endless War? May 26, 2003 ----------------- The Democrats May 19, 2003 ----------------- Inside The Matrix May 12, 2003 ----------------- China: SARS Nation May 5, 2003 ----------------- Asian Heroes Apr. 28, 2003   ASIA  Viewpoint: The Real Hu Jintao ARTS  Movies: Bloody Battle Royale II  Books: Explosive Bunker 13  Q&A: Aniruddha Bahal NOTEBOOK  Hong Kong: Resistance is Futile  South Asia: New Friends  Japan: Saving the Whales  China: Outbreak, the Sequel  Milestones  Verbatim TRAVEL  Australia's A-List Destination CNN.com: Top Headlines

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 carried from pigs and birds to humans, has a death rate of up to 30%. It's not uncommon in the humid rural areas of southern China; the WHO says the country routinely sees up to 10,000 cases a year. More surprising, perhaps, is that despite post-SARS claims of cross-border openness, officials in neighboring Hong Kong weren't informed about the outbreak by their counterparts in Guangdong; instead they reportedly found out from the media. Although Hong Kong itself has little to fear from Japanese encephalitis—Malaysian microbiologist Lam Sai Kit says the disease rarely spreads outside rural areas and a vaccine is readily available—unless the mainland opens up about its medical problems, the next viral export may prove far deadlier.