[Opinion] A Sociological Analysis of the Bird Flu

The Spanish influenza swept the world in 1918, killing 20 to 50 million lives. The flu took far more lives than the World War Ⅰ. Writer George Bernard Shaw even screamed in pain, saying, “I’d rather take my own life by my own hands.” In addition, the Asian flu of 1957 took 98,000 lives and the Hong Kong flu in 1968 took 46,000 lives.

Scientists believe that the outbreaks of such deadly influenzas were triggered by animals in China. They believe that the fatal strains were developed in a southern region in China where people bred pigs and ducks together while mingling with them. They argue that pigs became infected by a duck virus, and that the virus that jumped from ducks to pigs later infected people, creating a disastrous outcome. This is why the recent bird flu is making such an impression on the world despite its relatively small death toll of 20.

Professor Tony McMichael of Australia National University says evolution is the reason why animal diseases jump to humans, adding that more of these cases will occur more frequently in the future.

Recent researches have even found that seasonal birds, which often arouse nostalgia, are a main cause of virus transmission.

Humans cannot only control natural disasters but also epidemics. However, the results are heavily dependent on how political leaders tackle such problems. When the avian influenza broke out in 1997, Hong Kong authorities slaughtered 15,000 ducks and chickens in just four days after the outbreak, minimizing the death toll to six.

China was condemned by the international community last year for hiding the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. But this time, China immediately responded to the avian flu, establishing a supreme command office that exclusively assumes duties related to the avian influenza.

Making same mistakes again and forgetting what has just happened seems to be as much an incurable disease as SARS or bird flu. Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra does not seem to be very aware of the past. The Bangkok Post reports that his hiding the outbreak of avian flu in a bid to maintain Thailand’s position as the world’s No. 4 chicken exporter eventually created a panic in its stock market, breaking its market trust. Thaksin tried to justify his actions, however, saying, “This incident gave us a lesson, that we can always repeat a mistake even if we try our best not to make the same mistakes of the past.”

Sadly, Thaksin tried to not to acknowledge his mistake. If Thaksin had belatedly admitted his mistake honestly like the Chinese government did when they were troubled with SARS, Thailand would have had a better chance to recover its lost national image.

Editorial Writer Kim Soon-deok, yuri@donga.com