Last century's epidemics more deadly than today's

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT, Olivier THIBAULT, February 5, 2020

The deadliest epidemic of the haemorrhagic fever Ebola broke out in West Africa
in December 2013 and lasted more than two years (AFP Photo/CELLOU BINANI)

Paris (AFP) - Before the emergence of the new coronavirus, which has sparked worldwide panic, other epidemics had struck earlier in the 21st century, but were less deadly than the previous century's pandemics.

An overview.

21st century epidemics

2013-2016: Ebola

The deadliest epidemic of the haemorrhagic fever Ebola broke out in West Africa in December 2013 and lasted more than two years, killing more than 11,300, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

First identified in 1976, Ebola is less contagious than other viral diseases, but is particularly lethal, killing around 40 percent.

The virus re-emerged in August 2018 in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where it has so far killed more than 2,200.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 18,500 died of so-called "Swine flu", 

or H1N1, which was first uncovered in Mexico and the United States in March 

2009 (AFP Photo/LUIS ACOSTA)

2009-2010: Swine flu

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 18,500 died of so-called "Swine flu", or H1N1, which was first uncovered in Mexico and the United States in March 2009.

The Lancet medical review, however, puts the toll at between 151,700 and 575,400.

The pandemic alert was launched on June 11, 2009 and lifted on August 10, 2010 but the virus turned out to be not as deadly as first feared.

Vaccines were rushed out, but in hindsight, the West, particularly Europe, and the WHO were criticised for overreacting at a time annual influenza epidemics every year kill between 250,000 and 500,000, according to the Geneva-based UN health agency.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome first emerged in Guangdong in southern 

China in November 2002 before sparking a health crisis in mid-2003, in particular

traumatising Asia (AFP Photo/SAMANTHA SIN)

2002-2003: SARS

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome first emerged in Guangdong in southern China in November 2002 before sparking a health crisis in mid-2003, in particular traumatising Asia.

It killed 774, four fifths of whom were in China and Hong Kong. It was transmitted to man from horseshoe bats, eventually spreading to around 30 countries. It had a mortality rate of 9.5 percent.

2003-2004: Bird flu

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu killed more than 400 people, mainly in Southeast Asia, after appearing in 2003. It first ravaged poultry farms in Hong Kong, before being transmitted to humans. The WHO declared a global health emergency, but the toll remained limited.

20th century's big pandemics

AIDS, by far the most deadly epidemic of modern times: according to UNAIDS 

some 32 million people around the world have died of the disease (AFP Photo/

Dibyangshu SARKAR)

1981-to date: AIDS

By far the most deadly epidemic of modern times: according to UNAIDS some 32 million people around the world have died of the disease which affects the immune system and leaves people vulnerable to opportunistic infections.

Today around 24.5 million people have access to retroviral drugs which when taken regularly efficiently stop the illness in its tracks and heavily reduce the risk of contamination.

1968-1970: The Hong Kong flu

Around one million people died of this disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Transmitted around the world between mid-1968 and early 1970, it in particular killed many children. It first started in Hong Kong, spread through Asia and reached the United States in late 1968. After lying low for several months it then hit Europe in late 1969.

For epidemic experts, this flu went down in history as the first of the modern era, due to the advent of high-speed air travel.

1957-1958: Asian flu

Around 1.1 million people died of Asian flu, according to the CDC.

The pandemic hit in two aggressive waves. The virus first appeared in southern China in February 1957. Several months went by before it reached America and Europe.

The disease, which results in serious lung complications, in particular affected the elderly.

Spanish flu hit the world's population in the wake of WWI, killing up to 50 million, 

according to the CDC, and is considered the most deadly in history over such 

a short period (AFP Photo)

1918-1919: Spanish flu

Spanish flu hit a large part of the world's population in the wake of World War I, killing up to 50 million people, according to the CDC.

Striking between September 1918 and April 1919, it is considered the most deadly in history over such a short period.

Five times more people died of it than did in World War I. The first victims were recorded in the United States, before it spread to Europe and then around the world.

Its mortality rate was estimated at more than 2.5 percent, according to the CDC.

World's oldest captive giant panda, Jia Jia, dies aged 38

After weeks of deteriorating health, the world's oldest giant panda in captivity has died at a Hong Kong theme park. Jia Jia was a gift from Beijing on the second anniversary of Hong Kong's independence from Britain.

Deutsche Welle, 16 Oct 2016

Hong Kong giant panda, Jia Jia

Veterinarians were forced on Sunday to euthanize the world's oldest captive giant panda in Hong Kong in order to prevent the animal from further suffering.

"This is a day we knew would eventually come, but it is nevertheless a sad day for everyone at the Park, especially for the Park's keepers who took care of her over the years," Ocean Park chairman Leo Kung said in a statement.

Giant panda Jia Jia was born in the wild and was taken to a wildlife reserve's breeding centre in 1980, when she was around two-years-old.

Euthanasia to 'prevent suffering'

After taking medication for high blood pressure and arthritis in old age, Jia Jia's condition deteriorated significantly over the past two weeks. As her food consumption plummeted from 10 kilograms (22 pounds) a day to less than three, the panda dramatically lost weight.

"Her state became so debilitated that based on ethical reasons and in order to prevent suffering, veterinarians from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and Ocean Park [authorities] agreed to a humane euthanasia for Jia Jia," the theme park said.

Race to save the species

Although pandas are traditionally symbolic animals in China, Jia Jia carried extra significance as she, along with another panda An An, were gifts from Beijing to Hong Kong in 1999 on the occasion of its second anniversary of independence from Britain.

Jia Jia, whose name translates as 'excellence,' held the Guinness World Record as the oldest living giant panda in captivity. The average lifespan for a panda is only 18 to 20 years in the wild, although that jumps to 30 for pandas in captivity.

Due to their low birth rate and the destruction of their natural habitats, captive breeding programs have become essential to ensuring the species' survival. According to Ocean Park, Jia Jia gave birth five times to six panda cubs whilst in captivity.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that there are fewer than 2,000 giant pandas now left in the wild.

tm/jlw (AFP, AP)

Erwiana Tells Court of ‘Torture’ by Hong Kong Employer

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Dec 08, 2014

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih arrives at the Wanchai Law Courts to begin giving
 evidence against her former employer who is accused of abuse and torture, in
Hong Kong on Monday. (AFP Photo/Isaac Lawrence)

Hong Kong. A former Indonesian maid on Monday told a court that she was starved, beaten and ritually humiliated by her Hong Kong employer in a case that sparked international outrage.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih described in vivid detail how for months on end she lived on nothing but bread and rice, slept only four hours a day and was beaten so badly by her former employer Law Wan-tung that she was knocked unconscious.

“I was tortured,” she told the packed courtroom through a translator on the opening day of Law’s trial. “She often hit me … sometimes she would hit me from behind, sometimes she hit me in the front. I was hit so often sometimes I got a headache … She hit me in my mouth [so] I had difficulty breathing.”

Erwiana’s case has shone a spotlight on the plight of Hong Kong’s nearly 300,000 domestic workers, drawing angry crowds onto the streets in May to protest for better working conditions.

Opening the prosecution, solicitor Louisa Lai detailed the harrowing litany of abuse the former maid allegedly suffered, including how she was told to wrap her sores-covered feet in plastic bags “because of the smell.”

International condemnation

Pictures of the 23-year-old, who was admitted to a hospital in Indonesia in January emaciated and in critical condition, drew international condemnation as they spread on social media.

But on Monday, Erwiana, dressed in a purple jacket and white woollen jumper, remained calm as she told the court how Law had even “scratched my nose and my face” with her bare hands.

In one incident, she described being stripped naked, sprayed with water and made to stand in front of a fan in the bathroom in the middle of winter.

Prosecutors also allege Law used household items such as a mop, vacuum cleaner and a clothes hanger as “weapons” against Erwiana.

“She put a vacuum cleaner into my mouth … and twisted it round my lips. It was bleeding and very painful,” Erwiana said.

‘Slavery-like’ conditions

Law faces 21 charges — also relating to two other former domestic helpers — including grievous bodily harm with intent, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages. The most serious are punishable by up to life in prison.

The 44-year-old mother-of-two was arrested in January as she tried to board a flight to Thailand but was released on bail pending the trial.

Dressed in a light brown coat and thick-rimmed glasses, Law kept her head down as her former maid described the alleged abuse, occasionally shooting her a glance.

Earlier she had pleaded not guilty to all but one of the charges against her, admitting only that she had failed to arrange insurance for Erwiana.

Hong Kong is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Amnesty International last year condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by some domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city, and accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

On Monday around 20 members of an organization representing domestic workers in the city staged a protest outside the court, waving signs saying “No to modern day slavery” and featuring pictures of Erwiana.

“Justice for Erwiana!” and “We are workers, we are not slaves!” they shouted.

Virtual prisoner

Erwiana on Monday said she became a virtual prisoner in the house where she worked after she was caught trying to run away. After that Law took her passport and wallet and locked her in the house at all times, she said.

It was only when she was too weak to talk that Law bought her a ticket for home.

“She threatened to kill my parents back home if I talk about the torture to anyone,” Erwiana said.

The case is continuing.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is seen in her
hospital bed in Sragen district, central Java, on February 5,
2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

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Food safety fears see farming return to high-rise Hong Kong

Yahoo – AFP, Justine Gerardy, 14 Sep 2014

A worker is seen in a rice field at a farm that uses organic methods, in the

New Territories in Hong Kong, on August 6, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alex Ogle)

It's a rural tradition that faded out decades ago as Hong Kong turned into a neon-lit megacity: rice seedlings being dropped into watery paddy fields with gentle plops.

But now a new wave of farmers are growing the staple again in sleepy Long Valley in the city's northern New Territories, where buzzing insects and flocking birds offer a rich contrast to the high rise blocks in the distance.

Former supermarket supervisor Kan Wai-hong went from working late shifts to harvesting sacks of fragrant, golden rice.

Farmer Thomas Fung checks his bitter

melons, being grown on his farm that uses

organic methods, in Hong Kong, on

August 6, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alex Ogle)

"In the past people in Hong Kong grew rice," said Kan, 42, about his move. "I could teach the people again and revive rice farming."

The naturally-farmed rice paddies started reappearing in Long Valley seven years ago after a 40-odd year absence.

Started as part of a bird-friendly wetland conservation project, five farmers now produce around three tons of rice a year near the border with Hong Kong's biggest food supplier mainland China.

It's a mere drop in the 833 tons of rice that Hong Kong goes through every day, but it fetches several times the price of mass-produced imports as part of a growing demand for naturally grown food.

A relentless run of food scandals across the border -- from rotten meat in fast-food to dead pigs floating in rivers, recycled "gutter oil", and heavy pesticide use -- has made people rethink the way they shop.

"When food safety in mainland China or even other places is not that good, then Hong Kong people will choose foods that are safer," said Kan.

"The trend of society has changed, people have become more affluent and they care more about food safety -- so more people have come into contact with these products," he said of the more expensive organic fare.

One of the world's most densely populated places, the former British colony imports nearly all of its food with just two percent of its vegetables locally grown.

But the number of organic-style vegetable farms has increased from a handful of trailblazers in the 1990s to several hundred today -- of which 130 are certified as fully organic.

'We're scared'

While still flown in to the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city, homegrown organic vegetables now make up 12 percent of the 45 tons of vegetables the city produces daily.

Shoppers are shrugging off the fact that they cost more than their mass produced counterparts.

"After learning that there are quite a lot of different kinds of pesticides or different ways of growing the plants, I think it's better to have the organic ones," Jenny Ho told AFP while browsing one of several weekly organic markets.

"(The food) from Hong Kong does not have to travel so long and is more fresh and delicious as a result."

A vendor arranges vegetables at an organic market in Hong Kong, on

August 6, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alex Ogle)

Despite the shock of a 2008 melamine-laced baby formula scandal that killed six infants, China's scares have continued to flare.

Sixteen percent of the country's land area was estimated to be polluted, according to China's environment ministry in April, with almost one fifth of farmland tainted by inorganic elements such as cadmium.

Among the latest alarms to fuel distrust are chicken feet soaked in hydrogen peroxide and a cook who painted dishes with a banned pigment to look more appealing.

Last year, Hong Kong authorities tested around 65,000 food samples and found only 57 from various countries to be unsatisfactory.

Best practice supply farms are also identified on the mainland, and last month new rules on pesticide residues came into effect.

But apprehension remains. "The government is doing quite a good job in Hong Kong," said Jonathan Wong, director of the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre. "We're scared, but we have a better control system now."

"Food supply in Hong Kong is still safe but we worry," Wong added, blaming the regular mainland scandals. "This psychologically makes people in Hong Kong feel worried about the food supply from China."

High demand

By 1980, 40 percent of farmland in Hong Kong was reported as abandoned and rice paddies made up less than one percent of what was in use. Today, a total of just seven square kilometres (2.7 square miles) is actively farmed.

Packs of organically grown rice, pictured

 in Hong Kong, on August 6, 2014 (AFP

Photo/Alex Ogle)

While the government provides no farming subsidies, it has encouraged farmers to convert to organic and provides technical support.

But shrinking farmland, also eyed by property developers, is often limited to small plots on short-term leases in the space-challenged city, which is also home to rooftop vegetable gardens and vertical fish farms.

Farmer Thomas Fung lives in Hong Kong's skyscraper sprawl and commutes to his New Territories patchwork of plots rented from six different landlords on leases ranging from two to five years.

It means even more pressure for the farmers, but those prepared to go organic to meet the city's changing tastes acknowledge that the fears play to their favour.

"The people are quite afraid of the quality of mainland China veggies, so the demand is very, very big in Hong Kong," said Fung, one of the city's self-claimed organic farmers.

Wong Yu-wing, whose nearby family farm is one of the largest to be fully certified, agreed.

"Organic planting is much more better than the traditional method because Hong Kong people are looking for organic vegetables -- fresh, planted in Hong Kong -- so we have a big market."

McDonald's Japan unveils 'tofu nuggets' after China meat scandal

Yahoo – AFP, July 30, 2014

McDonald s Japan unveils tofu nuggets after China meat scandal (AFP)

Tokyo (AFP) - McDonald's restaurants in Japan are turning to time-honoured Asian soul food -- tofu -- as the chain scrambles to minimise the damage from an embarrassing tainted meat scandal in China.

The fast-food giant's more than 3,000 restaurants in Japan on Wednesday started selling "Tofu Shinjo" nuggets modelled on a traditional side dish that meshes tofu, vegetables and fish.

For 249 yen ($2.40), customers can sink their teeth into four pieces of the chicken-free creation.

The rollout comes days after the firm said that its Japanese restaurants had stopped sourcing poultry products from a nugget supplier in Shanghai, in response to a scandal that saw expired meat sold to fast food giants.

On Tuesday, McDonald's Japan President Sarah Casanova made a televised apology, as she warned the "appalling" incident -- and subsequent switch to chicken suppliers in Thailand to plug the gap -- would depress company profits.

The disgraced factory and other Chinese distributors had supplied nearly 40 percent of the chicken used for McDonald's Japanese restaurants.

A company spokeswoman said Wednesday that, despite its fortuitous timing, the tofu offering had been in the works before China's latest food safety scandal.

"It is a part of wider, limited-time-only offering for the summer featuring a Japanese-style menu," she said.

At the chain's restaurants in mainland China, notices posted at every cash register told customers in Chinese and English: "We regret to let you know that currently we will only be able to provide a limited menu at our restaurant.

"At McDonald's we strictly comply with the applicable laws, regulations and the related standards. Thank you for your understanding."

In Shanghai, where the factory at the heart of the scandal has been shut down by authorities, the chain?s trademark Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets were unavailable.

"It's the same situation, only fries and drinks -- that sort of food -- are available," an operator from the McDonald's delivery hotline said, adding: "It's the same nationwide."

In Hong Kong, the chain said it has disposed of 43 tonnes of food products produced by the closed factory since Monday.

"The food products were first sealed before they were sent to the city's landfills under the inspection of the authorities," said a company spokeswoman.

Related Article:

OSI applied laxer food safety standards in China: report

'Tortured' Indonesian maid listed on Time's top 100

Yahoo – AFP, 25 April 2014

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih leaves the hospital in Sragen

district in central Java island on February 5, 2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

Hong Kong (AFP) - Time magazine has named an Indonesian maid allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer as one of the world's 100 most influential people, putting the spotlight on the city's treatment of its migrant workers.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, reportedly suffered months of abuse in a case which has renewed concerns over the treatment of domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city and sparked angry protests.

Time magazine hailed Sulistyaningsih's bravery in speaking out against her employer and pushing for laws that better protect maids in Hong Kong.

A member of a support group for Erwiana

 Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian maid allegedly

 tortured by her Hong Kong employer, holds a

 placard during a rally outside the Indonesian

consulate in Hong Kong on April 8, 2014

(AFP Photo/Philippe Lopez)

"It is brave women like her who speak up for the voiceless who will create lasting change," Cambodian activist Somaly Mam said of Sulistyaningsih in the list published on Thursday.

"Erwiana is advocating for better laws to protect others who may share her fate, placing a spotlight on the plight of a vulnerable and often invisible population," Mam said.

Time's recognition of Sulistyaningsih brings international attention to the treatment of migrant domestic workers in the city, Hong Kong-based Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body spokesman Eman Villanueva told AFP on Friday.

"The inclusion itself only proves that the issue of migrant domestic workers, the slavery, the exploitation and abuse is something that the international community should pay attention to," Villanueva said.

He described the situation as "ripe for abuse" in the city, where maids are required to live with their employers.

Villanueva also said Erwiana's actions and her inclusion on the list will help empower more victims to speak out.

"This would encourage and would strengthen the resolve of many other victims to come out in the open and fight for their rights and seek justice," he said.

Law Wan-tung, a 44-year-old Hong Kong mother-of-two has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Sulistyaningsih.

Prosecutors have alleged that Law turned household items such as a mop, a ruler and a clothes hanger into "weapons" against Sulistyaningsih.

She was also charged with common assault and four counts of criminal intimidation -- charges related either to Sulistyaningsih or to her two previous Indonesian domestic helpers.

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih

 looks on from a hospital bed in Sragen

district in central Java island on February 5,

 2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

The trial has been adjourned to April 29, with officials awaiting the maid's medical records from Indonesia.

Sulistyaningsih was admitted to hospital in Sragen, on Indonesia's main island of Java, in critical condition after returning from Hong Kong in January.

The Asian financial hub is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

Amnesty International in November condemned the "slavery-like" conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong and accused authorities of "inexcusable" inaction.

Time magazine's list also included Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban attack in 2012 when she was shot in the head by the militants for campaigning for girls' education.

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Employer of Abused Indonesian Maid Faces More Charges in Hong Kong

Indonesian maid to return to Hong Kong to help torture probe

Indonesia Insists on Trial for Maid

Jakarta Globe, Edi Hardum, January 20, 2014

Demonstrators shout slogans during a march on January 19, 2014 in support of
 an Indonesian maid who was allegedly tortured by her employer in Hong Kong.
(AFP Photo/Alex Ogle)

Indonesia has refused mediation and demanded a fair trial for a maid allegedly tortured by her employers in Hong Kong, according to an official.

“This concerns the country’s dignity,” Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, the head of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BNP2TKI), said on Saturday.

Jumhur called for the case to be brought to court and for her employers and agents to be brought to justice.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly left unable to walk following eight months of abusive treatment in Hong Kong and was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after returning home to Sragen, Central Java.

Erwiana, who said she was tortured during her employment that began in May 2013, said she did not receive her salary for eight months. Her employers then bought her a plane ticket home.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that Erwiana had only been given HK$100 ($12.89) and a T-shirt by her employer and was told not to speak to other Indonesians, before boarding the plane.

Yanti, also a migrant worker, assisted Erwiana at the airport after seeing her extensive injuries, which included cuts and burns.

The case has sparked anger in Hong Kong, where dozens of protesters including maids, rights activists and migrant group members rallied outside the office of the maid’s employment agency before marching to the Indonesian consulate.

Security at the agency’s office was tightened and protesters were prevented from entering.

The BN2TKI drew criticism when one of its directors, Christofel De Haan, suggested Erwiana’s case should be “settled peacefully,” or mediated, outside court.

Jumhur said Christofel had been spoken to regarding his remarks and that corrective action was being taken against the official, who now risks losing his position with the agency.

Erwiana’s condition is improving and doctors anticipate a recovery within weeks, according to Dita Indah Sari, a spokeswoman for the ministry of manpower and transmigration.

Hong Kong police said last week that a criminal investigation had been launched.

There are more than 300,000 domestic workers, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, in Hong Kong, where reports of abuse by employers are common.

A Hong Kong couple was sent to prison last year for torturing their Indonesian maid with a hot iron, a paper cutter and a bicycle chain, according to Britain’s Guardian newspaper. 

Additional reporting from AFP

Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih lies in a bed whilst being

 treated at a hospital in Sragen, Indonesia’s Central Java on Jan. 17, 2014. 

(Reuters Photo)

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Hong Kong Police to Interview ‘Tortured’ Indonesian Maid

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih gets medical treatment

 at a hospital in Sragen, Central Java, on Jan. 15, 2013. Erwiana was

 allegedly tortured in Hong Kong by her employers. (AFP Photo/

Anwar Mustafa)

New formula: Price probe to reshape baby milk industry in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-07-06

Foreign-brand infant formula has been the most popular in China since
the melamine scandal of 2008. (Photo/CFP)

A probe into possible price fixing by foreign and domestic baby formula firms will lead to the consolidation of the dairy sector, experts have said.

The National Development and Reform Commission is investigating foreign baby formula companies, including Nestle, Mead Johnson and Wyeth, as well as domestic company Biostime, over alleged antitrust violations.

The companies are believed to have a monopoly in the Chinese market and have been accused of violating anti-monopoly laws via high prices and limited market competition, according to the commission.

The commission said it will continue the probe, warning that companies that are found to have violated the law will be punished and could face fines ranging from 1%-10% of their annual sales.

Nestle, Wyeth and Mead Johnson have confirmed that their companies have been actively cooperating with the investigation.

Wyeth announced Wednesday that it will cut prices for some of its baby formula products by an average of 11%, as well as freeze prices on all new products for the next year. The price cuts will take effect on July 8, the company said.

Biostime said in a Tuesday statement that it is cooperating with the investigation and has decided to adjust its sales and marketing practices following the inquiry.

Wang Dingmian, a researcher who has tracked the dairy industry for years, said the probe provides an opportunity for domestic dairy companies to speed up restructuring and improve competitiveness by producing trustworthy products with affordable prices.

Demand for baby formula is booming in China, but confidence in domestic brands has plummeted since 2008, when melamine-tainted milk killed six infants and made 300,000 others ill.

Chinese from the mainland have since flocked to Hong Kong and other overseas markets to buy foreign-brand baby formula over safety concerns about domestic dairy companies.

Statistics from AC Nelson, a New York-based market survey and research company, showed that four foreign brands, including Mead Johnson and Wyeth, accounted for about half of the total sales of baby formula in the Chinese market in 2012.

Some foreign brands have increased their prices by up to 30% since 2008, with some prices reaching nearly twice as much as domestic brands, according to the National Development and Reform Commission's data.

At supermarkets in big cities like Beijing, a 900-gram container of baby formula made by an international firm costs between 200 yuan and 280 yuan (US$32.40-$45.65), compared to about 100 yuan (US$16.20) for domestic baby formula in smaller cities.

The commission's probe is a warning for foreign formula companies whose practices have hindered market competition, as well as consumers' interests, Wang said.

However, the investigation will not necessarily ensure a promising future for domestic dairy companies, said Chen Lianfang, a senior dairy analyst with CnAgri, a Beijing-based agriculture consulting company. "Price cuts for foreign baby formula will only create a limited profit margin for domestic companies, as the cost of production is still rising and domestic productivity remains low," Chen said.

As of May, China had 127 baby formula producers with a combined annual output of 600,000 tonnes of formula. Only three of the companies produce more than 30,000 tonnes annual.

The country imported 240,000 tonnes of infant formula in the first quarter of this year, up 23.7% from the same period of last year, indicating consistently huge demand from Chinese parents for foreign-branded baby formula, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

To reduce the country's reliance on foreign infant formula, Chen said, the price probe should be followed by industry consolidation and government supervision in order to restore market confidence in domestic baby formula.

China Mengniu Dairy Co has taken the first step to regain consumer confidence in the wakes of safety scandals surrounding the country's milk and infant formula industry. The company signed a deal in mid-June to buy Guangdong-based Yashili International Holdings Ltd. for over HK$11 billion (US$1.42 billion), marking the most costly merger in China's domestic dairy sector.

Furthermore, the government has taken a series of measures, such as encouraging technological restructuring and establishing a quality assurance system, to improve the quality of domestic baby formula.

"The most effective way to boost the dairy sector is to improve the quality of its products and raise public confidence in domestic formula producers," Chen said.

Related Article:

Antitrust investigation might change China's baby formula market

Hong Kong man finds he is a woman after doctor visit

Yahoo – AFP, June 4, 2013

(AFP)

HONG KONG (AFP) - A 66-year-old who lived his whole life as a man was given a surprising diagnosis after visiting the doctor in Hong Kong with a swollen abdomen -- he was a woman.

Doctors realised the patient was female after they found the swelling came from a large cyst on an ovary, the Hong Kong Medical Journal reported.

The condition was the result of two rare genetic disorders.

The subject had Turner syndrome, which affects girls and women and results from a problem with the chromosomes, with characteristics including infertility and short stature.

But he also had congenital adrenal hyperplasia, increasing male hormones and making the patient, who had a beard and a "micropenis", appear like a man.

"Were it not due to the huge ovarian cyst, his intriguing medical condition might never have been exposed," seven doctors from two of the city's hospitals wrote in the study published Monday.

The 1.37 meters (4.5 feet) tall patient, who grew up as an orphan, was found to have no testes, a history of urinary leakage since childhood, and stopped growing after puberty at the age of 10.

The doctors said there have been only six cases where both genetic disorders have been reported in medical literature. Turner Syndrome on its own affects only one in 2,500 to 3,000 females.

The Vietnam-born Chinese patient decided to continue "perceiving himself as having a male gender with the possible need of testosterone replacement," according to the journal.

Most men have a X and a Y chromosome and most women have a pair of X chromosomes. But people with Turner Syndrome tend to have only one X chromosome or are missing part of their second X chromosome.