What To Do About Bird Flu
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While stories about political misdeeds in Washington and volatility in France and the Middle East compete for headlines in U.S. newspapers, Chinese-language newspapers have had one singular focus: avian flu.
On Nov. 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed 124 cases of the H5N1 avian flu virus, including 63 deaths. No human or bird infections have been reported in the United States.
Chinese-language readers have been riveted on avian flu developments, not just for the past several weeks but months. Yuru Chen, editor-in-chief of the Chinese-language Taiwan-based World Journal in Millbrae, Calif., estimates that the newspaper has been covering the avian flu for about the past two years. The newspaper is published in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
"Chinese are very concerned about news from their home countries. We have covered the bird flu since it first broke out in Asia," he said.
In addition to reporting on outbreaks in China, including how many birds were infected and destroyed, the newspaper also fills its pages with preparation measures in the United States. President Bush announced last week that the United States will spend $1.2 billion for an avian flu vaccine. In the meantime, the Chinese-language press has been giving advice and tips on what readers can do to help prevent and treat an infection.
The remedies range from clinical to homespun. This type of service journalism was common during the SARS crisis when Chinese papers discussed the pros and cons of such things as boiling vinegar to disinfect a household from germs. Chinese-language media as well as other ethnic media frequently bridge the two worlds of news and service for their communities.
Here is an example of six tips to treat the avian flu, according to the Chinese media:
Pueng Vongs and Eugenia Chien work for New California Media.
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