Had a quick look to see if this was covered: Sorry if it was.
2008 is apparently not the "year of the mouse" in China. Reuters writes "Chinese inspectors found eight mice, dead and alive, on a United Airlines flight to Beijing after the airline reported the stowaways to local quarantine officials upon landing on Sunday afternoon, Xinhua news agency said." That, according to the Xinhua report, prompted local authorities to rush an "emergency team" on to the aircraft to "put rat poison and mice traps at every possible corner on the aircraft, including the cockpit."
The story apparently received wide coverage in China. Reuters says "the incident was reported in most newspapers on Tuesday, citing experts warning of dozens of fatal viruses that the mice could spread, and the risk of deadly accidents from them chewing through the plane's wiring and circuits." United responded to Reuters with a statement saying: "We are taking this matter seriously and have begun a full investigation with the authorities to determine how this happened and ensure it is resolved."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/