Virus Photo: VCG

China's National Disease Control and Prevention Administration on Friday said it is MKsportconducting a pilot program to actively monitor cases of pneumonia of unknown causes, with plans for gradual nationwide implementation following necessary refinements.

Lei Zhenglong, head of the administration's prevention department, announced at a Friday press conference, where he summarized progress in building an intelligent, multi-point trigger system for monitoring and providing early warnings of infectious diseases.

In response to newly emerging infectious diseases, a reporting directory for pathogenic microorganisms is being developed, which will clarify laboratory reporting procedures and processes for verification and handling by disease control agencies, Lei said. 

This laboratory network includes not only the laboratories of disease control agencies but also those of medical and health institutions, third-party testing agencies, universities and research institutes, as well as laboratories from other relevant departments, the official said. 

In addition, the disease monitoring channels have been expanded. 

The administration has optimized the network reporting system for infectious diseases to monitor acute respiratory infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza, at 1,041 sentinel hospitals across all cities and representative counties, according to Lei. 

Additionally, some of these sentinel hospitals have been selected to monitor various common respiratory pathogens. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention releases multi-pathogen monitoring results to the public on a weekly basis and provides health advisories. 

Lei also said that through various monitoring channels, including vector-borne diseases, urban sewage, global infectious disease information, and public sentiment, China has enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of its infectious disease monitoring systems.

Lei also said China has established regional infectious disease monitoring, early warning, and emergency command information platforms, which have been initially established in some regions such as Beijing and East China's Zhejiang Province.

To ensure effective data integration related to infectious diseases between medical institutions and disease control agencies, the national intelligent monitoring and early warning software for infectious diseases has been deployed in public medical institutions at the secondary level and above across the country. As of now, the integration deployment rate has reached 71 percent. 

Additionally, new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence have been utilized to enhance the automatic analysis and early warning capabilities of infectious disease data, according to Lei.



Global Times