A Comparison of China's Risk Communication in Response to SARS and H7N9 Using Principles Drawn From International Practice.

BACKGROUND: China's emergency management of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was heavily criticized, whereas the H7N9 response was praised by the international community.AimsThe aims of this study were to examine and compare the strengths and weaknesses of risk communication conducted in response to SARS and H7N9 and their associated social impacts on affected communities in China. METHOD: A qualitative comparative case study approach was employed in the present study, using a set of 8 risk communication principles selected from international literature to suit the Chinese context for the comparative analysis of emergency responses of SARS and H7N9. RESULTS: The study found significant differences in the risk communication conducted in the 2 cases. The SARS outbreak fully exposed China's lack of experience in public health risk communication. By contrast, the Chinese government's risk communication strategies had improved significantly during the H7N9 outbreak.DiscussionTrust is the basis for communication. Maintaining an open and honest attitude and actively engaging stakeholders to address their risk information needs will serve to build trust and facilitate multi-sector collaborations in dealing with a public health crisis. CONCLUSIONS: From SARS to H7N9, risk communication practices in China greatly improved, which, in turn, lessened adverse social impacts and improved outcomes in emergency management of public health crises. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:587-598).

Assessment on dioxin-like compounds intake from various marine fish from Zhoushan Fishery, China.

Sea fish consuming is an important intake source of dioxin-like compounds, especially for the coastal residents. To assess the intake levels of these contaminants from sea fish and to provide risk-based consumption advice, concentrations of 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) were measured in 32 commonly consumed fish species from Zhoushan Fishery, China. Due to the different accumulation influenced by fat content, feed habits and living zone in the sea area, the levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and dl-PCBs in different fish species varied significantly ranging from 0.002 to 0.078pg WHO-TEQ/g fresh weight, from 0.002 to 0.553pg WHO-TEQ/g fresh weight and from 0.003 to 2.059pg WHO-TEQ/g fresh weight, respectively. Based on mean fish consuming rate in China, the estimated maximum possible dioxin-like compounds intake through different fish species ranged from 0.26 to 65.61pgTEQkg(-1)bwmonth(-1). Bullet mackerel has the highest monthly intake level which was much higher than other fish species and very close to the provisional tolerable monthly intake (70pgTEQkg(-)(1)bwmonth(-)(1)) proposed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Hence, comparing to other fish species, the consumption of Bullet mackerel from Zhoushan Fishery should be cautious to reduce the potential health risk.