China’s research in major international infectious diseases benefits whole world
By Hu
Yuwei and Li Lei
As China
ranks among the world’s first-tier countries in treating health emergency, its
efforts in prevention and control of major international infectious diseases
have increasingly become globally visible.
China
has contributed five WHO-certified emergency medical
teams (EMT) for a total of 25 international teams from 15 countries.
Amid the
outbreak of Avian influenza, A (H7N9) in 2013, China identified the new-typed
H7N9 pathogen within only five days. China immediately released the whole gene
sequence to the world and, through the WHO, extended the test method to
Cambodia, Thailand and other countries within seven days.
Many
international institutes including the CDC and the WHO praised China for
earning time and making a significant contribution to the global effort in the
fight against the emerging epidemic.
China’s
success is partly due to its rapid detection of viruses, as well as a sound
online direct reporting system. It is capable of rapidly detecting more than
300 pathogens in 72 hours, remarkably contributing to its successful control of
Avian influenza A (H7N9) and other seasonal influenza.
After
SARS in 2003, China has set up the world’s largest online direct reporting
system for infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies,
mandating reports of primary medical institutions be directly heard of by the
national Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within just four
hours.
China’s
experience in dealing with H7N9 and SARS has greatly improved its scientific
and technological innovation capacity in monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of
seasonal influenza and other emergencies.
Such
achievements were also exported and shared in the prevention and control of
Ebola in Africa.
In
December 2016, a Chinese research team developed the rAd5-based Ebola vaccine
and it has successfully gone through test in clinical trials in Sierra Leone,
the African country severely affected by Ebola.
This is
the first time for a Chinese vaccine go through clinical trials abroad. The
research team from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the People’s Liberation
Army then quickly shared their findings with the whole world by publishing
scientific papers in the Lancet, the world’s leading general medical journal.
Chinese vaccines for world
After
years of exploration, China not only has achieved self-support in terms of
vaccine development and manufacturing, but also helped people of other
countries get good and affordable vaccines.
Jiao
Hong, head of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), said that
China has 45 vaccine manufacturers that can produce more than 60 vaccines and
prevent 34 diseases. Every year these enterprises produce more than 1 billion
doses of vaccines.
“China
is one of the few countries that is self-dependent to produce all the planned
immunization vaccines,” Jiao said in a press conference held by the NMPA in
June 29.
“So far,
some of China’s vaccine products have been exported to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, making
contributions to guarding people’s health in other parts of the world,” Jiao
said.
On
December 3, 2015, the world’s first inactivated EV71 whole-virus vaccine
developed by the Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical
Science (CAMS) was approved by the China Food and Drug Administration.
The
world’s only vaccine against Hepatitis E infection was developed by the team
led by Professor Xia Ningshao of Xiamen University. It was approved for testing
in the US on January 12, making it the first Chinese vaccine product to be
approved by the US’ Food and Drug Administration for clinical testing.
An
official of the China National Biotec Group surnamed Jia told the Global Times
that the company has exported a total of 84 million doses of vaccines and other
medical products and has donated more than 7 million doses of vaccines to other
developing countries.
The
Encephalitis B vaccine developed by the enterprise passed the WHO
prequalification in 2013, becoming the first attenuated encephalitis B vaccine
to pass the WHO prequalification. The vaccine has been enlisted in such country’s
immunization plans as Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Thailand and
supported in Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia via
government-assistance programs, said Jia.
Source:Global
Times
China’s research in major international infectious diseases benefits whole world
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