China has largest network for disease reporting

BEIJING - China has built the world's largest reporting network for infectious diseases and public health emergencies to ensure timely and accurate monitoring and treatment, a senior health official said Wednesday.

All disease control and prevention centers and 98 percent of medical institutions above county level as well as 94 percent of local health agencies have set up systems for real-time reporting on infectious diseases to the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Li Bin, head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Li made the comments at the on-going bimonthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee which runs from Monday to Friday.

It now takes four hours for local agencies to detect epidemics and report them to the CDC, compared with five days before the network was established, Li said.

To strengthen monitoring and early warning, 3,486 state-level stations have been set up to monitor 28 infectious diseases, including cholera and flu as well four disease carriers including mosquitos, mice, flies and black beatles, he said.

The reporting on student absence due to sickness in middle and primary schools has also been enhanced to curb epidemic diseases.

Stations for surveillance of infectious diseases for people entering and exiting the country have been built in 285 ports open to foreign countries and 168 healthcare centers for international travel.

The NPC Standing Committee is scheduled to hold a special inquiry on the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, which was passed in 1989 and revised in 2004.