Beijing trashes reports on China origin of swine flu

I / Beijing April 29, 2009, 14:18 IST

A senior Chinese health official said today that overseas media reports pointing to China as the source of a Swine Flu outbreak were aimed at tarnishing his nation's image.      

"Driven by ulterior motives, some overseas media have ignored the facts of the epidemic and basic scientific knowledge and deliberately fabricated rumours that this epidemic came from China," health ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said.     

"(They) aim to muddle right and wrong, create disturbances and ruin China's image," he said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.      

A number of press reports have said that the swine flu virus originated in Asia, with some quoting the Mexican governor of Veracruz, Fidel Herrera, as telling reporters Monday that the virus began in China.      

"We are resolutely opposed to this," Mao said. He said China was ready to work with the international community to help curb the spread of the A/H1N1 Swine Flu which has been linked to more than 150 deaths in Mexico and has spread around the world.      

So far China has not reported any human cases of the swine flu.