By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Expert’s Guide To Building and Improving Endurance
    June 30, 2022
    medical assistants
    What Do Medical Assistants Do On a Day to Day Basis?
    April 5, 2022
    superfoods to help with prostate health
    10 Healthy Foods That Can Help Protect Your Prostate
    August 29, 2022
    Latest News
    3 Ways To Deal With Health Issues In Cities With High Pollution
    March 22, 2023
    What Tools Should Your Caregiver Have?
    March 22, 2023
    How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad
    March 19, 2023
    4 Ways to Recover from a Broken Hip
    March 14, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Is Your Health Organization Prepared for Accountable Care?
    December 18, 2013
    CMS penalties
    CMS to Begin Implementing Payment Penalties Tied to Patient Outcomes
    July 16, 2014
    Call to Action: America’s Health Rankings Senior Report
    May 20, 2015
    Latest News
    What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
    March 23, 2023
    Cover Medical Costs of Child Dog Bites with Legal Specialists
    March 23, 2023
    3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030
    March 14, 2023
    6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies
    March 14, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Has China Done a Good Job Handling H7N9?
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
choose the right rehab center
The Road to Recovery: Finding the Best Rehab Center
Addiction Recovery
blockchain in healthcare for the NHS
How Blockchain Can Help the National Health Service
Technology
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
Wellness
Bioidentical Hormones
What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
Medical Education
chemical peels for skin disorders
Chemical Peels Can Do Wonders for Treating Skin Disorders
Skin
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > Has China Done a Good Job Handling H7N9?
Global HealthcareNewsPublic HealthSpecialties

Has China Done a Good Job Handling H7N9?

StevenShie
Last updated: 2013/05/17 at 8:00 AM
StevenShie
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

Over the last few months, H7N9 has been making headlines around the world. As of May 9, there have been 130 identified cases. 31 of them have died and 42 of them have recovered. Fortunately, H7N9, with a fatality rate of over 20 percent, has not spread to regions outside of greater China (all identified cases were in mainland China and Taiwan). The number new cases seems also decreasing as the temperature rises and a large scale outbreak is not likely at this point.

We may have survived another flu season.

Over the last few months, H7N9 has been making headlines around the world. As of May 9, there have been 130 identified cases. 31 of them have died and 42 of them have recovered. Fortunately, H7N9, with a fatality rate of over 20 percent, has not spread to regions outside of greater China (all identified cases were in mainland China and Taiwan). The number new cases seems also decreasing as the temperature rises and a large scale outbreak is not likely at this point.

We may have survived another flu season.

More Read

US healthcare system

3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030

New and Emerging Trends in the Dental Industry
6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies
5 Most Valuable Healthcare Programs in 2023
The Health and Legal Risks of Living in Your Vehicle
global health

A woman wears a face mask as she walks past a poster that reads “Facing H7N9: Be Aware; Don’t Panic.” (Photo: AFP)

Epidemiologists pointed out that new pathogens of infectious diseases like influenza have posed new challenges to public health. Ten years after the SARS outbreak, the H7N9 pandemic once again reminds us new pathogens can be highly fatal. Comprehensive preparedness for public health crisis is crucial to contain massive transmission among humans, identify pathway of the disease and find effective treatments in the early stage of a pandemic.

There are four things we should learn from responses to H7N9, which have so far led to effective control of the disease.

Immediate response and transparency is key to contain transmission at early stage.

The first H7N9 case was identified on March 31 and it was then quickly announced in both local and national media outlets. The relatively prompt reaction played an important role in raising people’s awareness of the disease. As a result, preventative steps (e.g., shutting down live poultry markets and avoiding close contact with live birds) may have reduced the infection.  This is a big improvement compared to how the government handled SARS, in which case it hid the numbers from WHO and media until hundreds of people were sick and a larger outbreak became inevitable.

Communication regarding the N7N9 infection cases and deaths has been transparent during the course of the outbreak. Indeed, it is nerve-racking to see the high fatality of the disease, but the numbers have also helped to put the outbreak in perspective, informing the general public that the outbreak is sporadic and there is no need to panic.

Preparedness for pandemics is crucial.

H7N9 flu

It was a painful lesson for China to learn from SARS 10 years ago (Photo: AFP)

A painful lesson the Chinese government learned from SARS is that the country was ill-prepared for acute infectious diseases. The building of public health infrastructures was much behind the country’s overall urbanization progress. With millions of people moving into cities from rural countryside, the fragile public health facilities in some cities almost collapsed when SARS hit. Meanwhile, a lack of experience in dealing with large-scale disease outbreaks resulted in a series problems that caused more lives– inefficient use of existing public health resources, avoidable infections in hospitals, slow responses from academia and low public health literacy among the general public.

A decade later, measures taken after SARS show how some of the improvements have helped highly populated cities to better deal with a dangerous disease outbreak.

international health policy

Geographic distribution of national influenza surveillance sentinel hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai Municipalities and 8 provinces with confirmed human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus infection, China, 2013. (Photo: CDC)

According to the CDC of China, The country has established two major  infectious disease monitoring and reporting networks—SARS Surveillance System and China National Major Infectious Diseases Surveillance System. During the H7N9 outbreak, the Ministry of Health was able to receive prompt updates directly from each province major cities. China Radio International reports that by April 8, China CDC had distributed more than 160,000 testing kits via its network that covers all labs in the country’s 31 provinces.

A group of Chinese scientists in early April published a study in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal published by the CDC. The study highlights the important role of Chinese National Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance Network (which was created after the H7N9 outbreak) in identifying new cases and facilitating epidemiology studies of the disease.

Share information with international counterparts.

From SARS to H5N1, we have seen how a local outbreak can flare into a global crisis. Sharing information with WHO and other countries is a necessary step to avoid an outbreak on the global level.  Additionally, sharing information also expedite the process of understanding the disease and finding effective treatments.

Soon after the H7N9 virus was identified, it was sent to major labs in the U.S. and the U.K. Virologists have since worked collectively to solve mysteries surrounding H7N9, hoping to develop a vaccine.

On April 24, Chinese scientists also published a study in NEJM, analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of H7N9 and discussing how the virus changes after infecting human bodies.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, as significant changes have occurred in the environment we live in, new diseases are real threats to the modern society. Although H7N9 may be losing its momentum, people in public health need to stay on high alert.

TAGGED: CDC, china, epidemiology, H7N9, Infectious Disease, public health, SARS

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
StevenShie May 17, 2013
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article generic pharmaceuticals Are Biosimilars Ethical?
Next Article palliative care Person-Centered HealthCare: Stair Steps

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

choose the right rehab center
The Road to Recovery: Finding the Best Rehab Center
Addiction Recovery March 27, 2023
blockchain in healthcare for the NHS
How Blockchain Can Help the National Health Service
Technology March 27, 2023
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
Wellness March 23, 2023
Bioidentical Hormones
What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
Medical Education March 23, 2023

You Might also Like

chemical peels for skin disorders
Skin

Chemical Peels Can Do Wonders for Treating Skin Disorders

March 23, 2023
health issues for office workers
News

Biggest Health Issues Office Workers Need to Content With

March 22, 2023
dental care modern
Dental health

Dental Mission Trips Help Provide Dental Care to Impoverished Nations

March 22, 2023
hair transplants for cancer patients
News

Why Reputable Hair Transplant Clinics Can Help Cancer Patients

March 21, 2023
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?