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