Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Kazakhstan health ministry rejects Chinese claim of ‘unknown, deadlier pneumonia’

Kazakhstan health ministry rejects Chinese claim of ‘unknown, deadlier pneumonia’

Ministry says Chinese embassy misunderstood official count, which includes unspecified cases. WHO says it not aware of new emerging disease circulating in the Central Asian nation
Kazakhstan’s health ministry has dismissed a Chinese embassy warning that the Central Asian nation had an outbreak of an “unknown” pneumonia that was deadlier than the new coronavirus, saying it was a misunderstanding of the official count.

In a statement on its Facebook page on Friday, the ministry said the information given by the Chinese embassy was “incorrect”.
The statement came a day after the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan issued a warning to Chinese citizens about pneumonia of unknown cause in the country.

“In the first half of this year, 1,772 have died of pneumonia in Kazakhstan and 628 died in June alone, including Chinese citizens,” the Chinese embassy said.

“That mortality rate of that disease is far higher than Covid-19 and Kazakhstan authorities are conducting a comparative study of the virus and there is no clear definition yet.”

While the Chinese embassy described the illness as an “unknown pneumonia”, Kazakhstan officials and media have only said it is pneumonia.

The health ministry said the official tally included pneumonia caused by all kinds of pathogens, including bacteria and virus. All of the cases showed clinical symptoms of abnormal imaging regardless of their laboratory results.

It did not specify how many of the pneumonia cases which did not test positive in a swab test were “probable cases” of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. It also did not say if any of the cases were caused by a new kind of pathogen.

“At a briefing on Thursday, Minister of Health Alexei Tsoi spoke about pneumonia in the country as a whole: bacterial, fungal, viral origin, including ‘viral pneumonia, unspecified etiology’ according to the ICD-10 classification,” the ministry said, referring to the International Classification of Diseases, a global diagnostic tool.

Calls to Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan were not answered.

George Gao Fu, director of Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted by the China New Service as saying the Chinese authorities were still investigating and there was no further information.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was willing to work with Kazakhstan to combat Covid-19 and safeguard public health in the two countries.

The WHO told the South China Morning Post that it was verifying with Kazakhstan about the latest development, but it was not aware of any emerging disease.

“The ministry of health of Kazakhstan published a statement on July 10 clarifying that cases presenting with pneumonia are diagnosed according to ICD-10. This suggests they do not classify as emerging unknown disease. We are in the process of verifying with the ministry the Covid-19 confirmed cases.”

“There are a wide range of potential explanations for pneumonia, of which one is Covid-19 which we know is circulating in Kazakhstan,” the WHO said.

“More than 10,000 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported by the national authorities over the past seven days. As case numbers are increasing, the country has recently reintroduced a range of physical and social distancing measures. We are currently in contact with the authorities in Kazakhstan to understand situation developments and provide support as needed.”

Kazakhstan news website Informburo quoted Aizhan Esmagambetova, chief sanitary doctor, as saying the death toll of pneumonia in general this year was 50 per cent higher than that at the same time last year.

Tsoi, the health minister, said earlier that pneumonia of all causes would be given the same treatment as for Covid-19.
Kazakhstan has reported more than 50,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Tengrinews, another Kazakhstan news website, reported that 28,000 people were hospitalised with pneumonia and tested negative for Covid-19.

According to Russian news agency Sputnik News, Rafail Rosenson, an immunologist from Astana Medical University, said most of the cases should be Covid-19.

“It is impossible to say 100 per cent, but 99.99 per cent they were caused by the coronavirus. Because in the past there have never been community-acquired viral pneumonias in June,” the doctor said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×