SHANGHAI: China has detained at least 12 people for spreading false rumours about H7N9 bird flu, government statements showed yesterday, as authorities sought to control “panic” with cases mounting.
China announced on March 31 that the H7N9 avian influenza had been found in humans for the first time. The number of people confirmed to have been infected rose to 31 yesterday, with nine deaths.
Police in China’s southwest city of Guiyang detained three people for claiming H7N9 flu had been found in a poultry market, said a police statement released yesterday. “This caused panic among netizens and citizens,” it said.
The two who posted the original rumour were each being detained for five days, but one who spread it more widely over the Internet would be held for 10 days, the statement said.
The H7N9 flu outbreak has so far been confined to China’s developed eastern region, including commercial hub Shanghai, China, where five people have died.
Police have also detained three people in Zhejiang province, two in Jiangsu and two in Anhui for spreading “false information” about bird flu, according to separate statements.
The southeastern province of Fujian and Shaanxi in the north, which have yet to confirm human cases, have each detained one person for similar offences, police statements said. The World Health Organisation has praised China for its transparency towards the H7N9 outbreak.
AFP
