Expert: Alarm Over Rising Deaths, Bird Flu Surge in China

Turning to today's headline, viruses are surging inside China. Over the past few months, footage circulating online has shown Chinese hospitals filled with patients. And social media posts across the country are reporting growing numbers of deaths in their communities. Meanwhile, bird flu viruses are killing huge amounts of poultry in China daily. Doctors and nurses in some provinces have even held emergency medical drills recently. What's going on with public health inside China? And are the U.S. and the rest of the world doing enough to protect their citizens from a potential outbreak? An expert who closely monitors situations in both China and the U.S. says no. Before we dive into the expert's analysis, let's hear what some residents living in different parts of China have to say. To protect their safety, we distorted their voices. Are there a lot of people with fever and cold symptoms? Yes, a lot. It's mostly elderly people and children. You can hear my child in the background. I have a child. And my mother is also sick. There are also young adults in their 20s, teenagers, and elderly people in their 70s and 80s. Many of them are catching colds. It seems like a new virus. Oh, what does the hospital say the illness is? They just say it's a type of flu. I just had a fever. There are so many sick people, both adults and children. It's severe, runny noses, sore throats. But no one is saying what virus it is, and no one is admitting anything. The hospitals are very crowded. How long do people have to wait in line? A very long time. Everyone has to wait for hours, five or six hours, sometimes six or seven hours. When did this situation start? It's been going on for over a month now, a major outbreak. There are so many cases of fever and cold. I just got it myself. I'm still not fully recovered. Some have vomiting and diarrhea. Some have fever, cough, body aches, and fatigue. How many people have gotten sick in your area? A lot. The symptoms seem similar to the common cold in the past. It's probably still COVID. Medications don't seem to work. There's an outbreak in the north. My uncle passed away from white lung, fluid in the lungs, and was buried today. But I didn't go back. He was in great health. Are there others? Quite a lot. That's what I've heard. There are many cases. Right now, crematoriums are overwhelmed, with people lining up for cremation services. A lot of people have died. The hospitals were already overcrowded before, and now it's even worse. Just look at the crematoriums. They're overwhelmed. They can't do same-day cremations anymore. Families have to bribe the crematorium staff or pay extra just to get service. Can you imagine how many people have died? Are there a lot of people in the crematorium? Of course. Sometimes people have to wait five or six hours in line. The eyewitness reports are causing concern. Several interviewees told us that they believe the Chinese regime is covering up the severity of the situation. Several people echoed that hospitals and even funeral houses are aiding that censorship. Others said staff members at crematoriums are urging people to not film the crowds gathered there. Some also raised doubts over the flu test results from Chinese hospitals, noting the medication they're being given, which targets the flu, doesn't appear to ease their symptoms. They say doctors have also refused to address doubts over the test results. Sean Lin served as a microbiologist for the U.S. Army for seven years. He's also an assistant professor in the biomedical science department at New York-based Feitian College. I think from the netizens' report, the videos and the many posts, it's very alarming. And these waves, many people are suggesting it's even bigger than during the COVID period. And so I think it's very, very concerning. The Chinese government only emphasizes this is a regular winter season. The Chinese government recognizes there are spikes of these different pathogens, but however, it cannot explain why so many people have severe symptoms, why so many hospitalizations as well, why so many deaths. The Chinese CDC published its latest report on the epidemic of respiratory diseases nationwide on Thursday. It claims the trend of infections is declining, with no new or unknown pathogens identified. It also says the influenza virus is the primary cause of the respiratory infections. In its most recent report focused on the influenza virus, the Chinese state controlled agency claimed that both northern and southern China saw fewer positive cases, with only one regional outbreak reported. These reports mark a stark contrast with what residents say. Now, people are raising questions over why hospitals are holding emergency drills if official notices say infections are on the downswing. I think the Chinese government is actually hiding something very serious. And so from different information we collected, we can see many provinces in China actually have drills for avian flu human infections. Like in Shaanxi province, Shaanxi Taiyuan cities, in Fujian province, in Fuzhou cities, in Guangdong province, there are many provinces that actually have drills to prepare for avian flu human infection. So there's a huge alarm signal. Another concern is that despite those drills, the Chinese regime is still moving full steam ahead with efforts to boost tourism to the country. That's in hopes of boosting its sluggish economy. Last December, Beijing announced a 10-day visa-free policy for citizens of over 50 countries, including the U.S., Canada and the U.K., making travel to China far easier. I would not recommend people going to China for tourism when Chinese government not transparent regarding about the big wave of hospitalization as well as death tolls in China. Separate from the eyewitness reports coming from China, let's zoom in on what's happening with poultry, the source of the bird flu viruses. Poultry farm owners in China are reporting major losses caused by bird flu viruses, with social media videos highlighting piles of dead chickens and ducks. Again, such information is missing from Chinese media headlines. Over in the U.S., the CDC reported that the bird flu virus has already affected more than 150 million poultry birds and has already started spreading to other mammals, including wildlife like bobcats and brown bears and livestock like dairy cattle. Last year alone, nearly 1,000 cattle tested positive for H5N1. As of now, the U.S. CDC still labels the risk to humans from bird flu as low. It also had not detected any cases where avian flu has spread from person to person, meaning all human infections have come from contact with infected birds. Despite that, Qian Lin says the health department isn't doing enough to prepare for the potential of a more serious outbreak. To me, actually, I think the United States, or overall Western societies, also not pay enough attention to the risk for avian flus. So CDC still evaluate the whole situation as a low risk to the public. But if it can jump from birds to cattle, it means the virus adapt to mammalian species much faster. And then it will adapt to human species much faster, much faster than from birds to cattle. An epidemiologist from Florida, Dr. Edwin Michael, raises another potential danger. If a human were to get infected with both a bird flu virus and an influenza A virus around the same time, the two viruses could mutate into a more dangerous strain. And Michael said that new virus could cause an epidemic. The concern comes as the U.S. endures its most severe flu season in 15 years. And for the first time ever last month, the number of deaths from the flu has surpassed the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus. In New York, but also in Indiana, there are many cases that hospitals are so overcrowded, ICU crowded. And so there are overflows on ICUs or influenza like illnesses. That means this winter is very unusual. Right. So if CDC is still treating like, you know, we just like a regular season collecting data and do analysis afterwards, it will be late. The U.S., U.K., Australia and the European Union have recently started preparing vaccines to counter H5N1 human infections. In related news, the U.S. state of Ohio has just announced its first probable human infection of H5N1 bird flu. The patient is reportedly a farm worker who handles commercial poultry. Officials didn't give details on the patient's condition, but most cases of the virus in humans are mild. The Ohio Health Department says the risk of catching bird flu in the state is low, but advises people to avoid exposure with sick or dead birds without protection. The infections adds to a tally of 68 bird flu cases in humans since 2024. One patient in Louisiana died last month as a result.