 News of Shanghai's Bird Flu virus is all over the internet. | I texted my boss that morning telling her that I was too poorly to come into teach as I had a high fever, a runny nose and was feeling nauseous. She immediately responded, “…go to the hospital. You know in Shanghai we have bird flu now…”. I wave of panic came over me. Sure enough, looking up the symptoms online I ticked all the boxes. It’s not been a good year so far in terms of food safety in China. First things kicked off with the catastrophe of Biblical proportions where thousands of dead pig carcasses were being hauled out of Shanghai’s Huang Pu river (a source of drinking water of the city). |
Then followed the mysterious appearance of more than a 1,000 dead ducks found in a river in China’s Sichuan province. Shanghai and its neighbouring areas got another hit by falling prey to a newly discovered strain of Bird Flu – H7N9 which, at the time of writing, has claimed 9 lives out of 33 people so far detected with the disease.
| I decided to put positive thinking into practise by telling myself that in a few hours I would be fine. On the contrary, despite having slept the whole afternoon, drank loads of warm lemon water with honey, I was feeling progressively worse. From our bed, I feebly called out to Lezil asking her if we could go to the hospital to get to the bottom of this sickness. It was a short 10 minute taxi ride to Ruijin Hospital – widely seen as Shanghai’s best. They do have a foreign section but at an overly priced premium. We had already registered as patients before, so it was pretty straight forward using the local facilities. |  Grabbing a taxi to Ruijin Hospital. |
 Giving the hospital receptionist my phone for help with translation! | Unfortunately my Chinese vocab doesn’t quite extend to explaining specific medical symptoms. Upon entering the emergency reception area, the place wasn’t overly busy. All around were warning signs for the H7N9 virus and how best to prevent catching it. The old lady on the desk spoke zero English and all I could say in the Chinese was that I was sick and then I pointed at the Bird Flu poster. |
| She must have thought I was mad. I called up my boss (who kindly offered to help translated if I needed it). Handing the phone over, the masked-receptionist chatted for a few moments ending her conversation with “Wo ming bai le…” (Oh, I see….). I got handed a thermometer and was told to keep it in my mouth for 3 minutes. My boss was still on the other end as I got the low down on what would happen next. Hanging up I returned to the reception desk and handed back the thermometer. It read 37C – normal. So far, so good. But I still felt very weak and had the sensation of wanting to throw up. She booked me in with the doctor for a closer look. Unlike some previous experiences in emergency section of British hospitals, here I was seen to very quickly. |  Themometer in my mouth and the phone in my hand speaking to my boss. |
 Awaiting my turn to see the emergency doctor, along with all the other patients in the same room. | A brief check of my breathing with a stethoscope the doctor on duty asked that I go for a blood test. Again, it was a speedy process and I literally waited no more than 20 minutes to get the results back. Various components showed that I had a very high cell count which, the doctor, later told me that I did indeed have a virus but that thankfully it was not of the H7N9 variety. Phew! I came away with a couple of packets of antibiotics to take over the next few days. Job done. |
| Yes, this may come across as being overly cautious, but when you are in close proximity with people who tend to not cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze (especially not nice in a packed metro train) – it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry. Shanghai’s municipalities have shut down the trade of all live poultry until the virus is contained. Over 110,000 chickens so far have been culled and the streets around where we live – the giant bird cages are uncharacteristically empty. According to a local newspaper, Shanghai gets through around 130 million birds a year (that’s just ONE city). Times that by the countless other mega-to-medium sized Chinese urban sprawls and you do wonder how the demand for meat is being kept up in a safe and sanitary way fit for human consumption. |  Getting a blood test done. |
It’s enough to turn you into a vegetarian, but even there – again issues have been exposed concerning growing and preservation methods for fruit and vegetables. No more meat? Maybe.
Taking my temperature as I stand by a big warning sign on the latest virus strain of bird flu to break out - H7N9.
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