China has the pig and chicken production infrastructure to help facilitate explosive infections such as ST398. It also has a health infrastructure that is still finding its feet. Not a good combination.
In recent years, especially since the SARS outbreak in 2003, healthcare reform, primarily in the rural regions of China, has received unprecedented attention from the central government. While a rural health insurance system, the Cooperative Medical Scheme (CMS), had existed in China prior to its economic reforms, the CMS floundered during the early 1980s primarily because of the collapse of the rural collective economy. As a result, some 90% of the rural population was left without any type of health insurance coverage. In 2003, the central government decided to subsidize the operation of the CMS for the poorer provinces. This was the first time that Beijing had allocated funds from the central government budget to support a rural health insurance plan. In addition to subsidizing the CMS, Beijing also created a medical assistance fund. Under this system, those suffering from debilitating diseases could apply for cash subsidies. The government has also devoted large amounts of funding to construct disease control institutions and purchase necessary healthcare equipment.
