On March 3, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service published a report titled: “China: African Swine Fever in Xinjiang Notified” (report link). The text of the report reads as follows:
On February 28, 2022, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) notified the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that on February 23, 2022, China detected a recurrence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. China is continuing to monitor the situation. China has notified this detection to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
U.S. Department of Agriculture
African Swine Fever? I was surprised to read this. In May 2020, I reported that the Chinese Communist Party was very opposed to describing viruses geographically. The Party was so opposed that it leaned on the World Health Organization (which also amplified its lies about the Wuhan coronavirus in the early stages) to craft hitherto unheard of virus naming conventions to avoid describing a virus that was first discovered in Wuhan as having anything to do with China:
“Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus
Apparently the World Health Organization’s policy was either short-lived or very specific. China now battles persistent outbreaks of the African Swine Fever in Xinjiang, a region where government officials have otherwise been occupied with running concentration camps for ethnic minorities. It reports these outbreaks to the World Health Organization – which no longer has a problem with describing viruses geopgraphically. The same seems to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture – which has shed whatever reluctance U.S. Government officials have had to describing viruses geographically.
There may be a way to explain the inconsistency. I reported in May 2020 that the Chinese Communist Party officials and businesses began targeting Nigerians who had the misfortune of being in Guangzhou when the Wuhan coronavirus hit the province. It is possible that the Party has one set of rules for the many nations and peoples of Africa and another for itself. In any event, it looks like the good folks who live along the Ebola River will be stuck with having “Ebola” associated with a deadly pathogen for the foreseeable future.
China’s Inconsistent Virus Naming Rules
CommentaryNicholas A. FerrellMarch 26, 2024On March 3, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service published a report titled: “China: African Swine Fever in Xinjiang Notified” (report link). The text of the report reads as follows:
African Swine Fever? I was surprised to read this. In May 2020, I reported that the Chinese Communist Party was very opposed to describing viruses geographically. The Party was so opposed that it leaned on the World Health Organization (which also amplified its lies about the Wuhan coronavirus in the early stages) to craft hitherto unheard of virus naming conventions to avoid describing a virus that was first discovered in Wuhan as having anything to do with China:
Apparently the World Health Organization’s policy was either short-lived or very specific. China now battles persistent outbreaks of the African Swine Fever in Xinjiang, a region where government officials have otherwise been occupied with running concentration camps for ethnic minorities. It reports these outbreaks to the World Health Organization – which no longer has a problem with describing viruses geopgraphically. The same seems to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture – which has shed whatever reluctance U.S. Government officials have had to describing viruses geographically.
There may be a way to explain the inconsistency. I reported in May 2020 that the Chinese Communist Party officials and businesses began targeting Nigerians who had the misfortune of being in Guangzhou when the Wuhan coronavirus hit the province. It is possible that the Party has one set of rules for the many nations and peoples of Africa and another for itself. In any event, it looks like the good folks who live along the Ebola River will be stuck with having “Ebola” associated with a deadly pathogen for the foreseeable future.