Opacity: China hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about the mystery pneumonia within its borders. Earlier, they told the World Health Organization that the epidemic peaked in February and was on a decline, but it turns out that they had a recent outbreak in one of their military hospitals. They are apparently intentionally stifling the news:

Health statistics in China concerning a wide range of diseases are regarded as politically sensitive and so are often misrepresented or never made public. This week the government ordered Chinese journalists not to report on the outbreak of the strange pneumonia, a reporter at a large newspaper in Guangdong said.

Reminds me of some of my patients who refuse to acknowledge their medical illnesses. On the other hand, Michael Ledeen says it may just be that the Chinese don’t trust their doctors.