Infectious diseases, once the No. 1 cause of death among the
Chinese people, has been effectively brought under control after
more than 50 years of prevention and control efforts, according to
a senior health official.
Infectious diseases ranked as the tenth major cause of death in
China in 2004, compared with the top place in 1952, said Qi
Xiaoqiu, a senior official in charge of disease control with the
Ministry of Health.
China has made remarkable achievements in the prevention and
control of various infectious diseases, including the eradication
of poliomyelitis in 2000, a drastic drop in the cases of measles,
diphtheria, pertussis, encephalitis B Japanica and epidemic
cerebrospinal meningitis, Qi told a recent seminar on the public
health system held in this capital city of southern Hainan
Province.
The government launched an information system on infectious
diseases and public health emergencies in January 2004 after the
fight against the SARS epidemic in 2003.
By the end of 2004, Qi said, over 93 percent of hospitals at and
above the county level and nearly 43 percent of township hospitals
across the country had built links with the national information
system, which enables the health authorities to report infectious
disease epidemic timely and accurately on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, the country still faces serious threat from both
new and old infectious diseases, Qi said, adding that efforts
should be intensified to standardize infectious disease prevention
and control, especially in the vast rural areas where medical care
facilities remain poor.
(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2006)