# 7087
My thanks to Helen Branswell for tweeting a link to the following essay by Jody Lanard, which is posted on their Peter Sandman and Jody Lanard Risk Communication weblog.
Dr. Lanard sees encouraging signs with the way China has handled their risk communications on the H7N9 outbreak in their country, although she cautions that some `mega-overconfident over-promising’ has begun to creep into the messaging.
Follow the link to read Jody’s essay in its entirety.
China's risk communication to date about H7N9
by Jody Lanard
April 6 2013
In its communications about the H7N9 outbreak in humans, China has so far been remarkably candid, timely, and not over-reassuring, compared with past Chinese communication during alarming situations. (These notes were written between April 2 and April 6, 2013.)
Unless we learn otherwise, China seems to have reported very early. I hope this means they have learned a tough lesson from past cover-ups and delayed reporting, and are determined to do it right this time.
Whether this new openness extends to all levels of China’s government and their ongoing response to this outbreak, isn’t clear.
On Wednesday the Chinese Minister of Agriculture very quickly denied that poultry might be carrying the H7N9 virus (see Crofsblog China: No H7N9 influenza infections in animals), a position that was reversed 24 hours later.
I suspect some well-ingrained bureaucratic habits are going to be very hard to break
But compared to the `the bad old days’, China does appear to have been far more forthcoming over this past week, and less cumbersome in their messaging.
A welcome trend, worth encouraging, that we really need to see continue.
