Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

About: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is a government organization based out in Beijing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 16037 authors who have published 15098 publications receiving 423452 citations. The organization is also known as: China CDC & CCDC.

Prevention and control of hepatitis B in China.

Abstract: About 170 million Chinese are infected chronically with HBV and 10% suffer from chronic hepatitis. Around half a million Chinese die from hepatitis B caused hepatocellular carcinoma and endstage cirrhosis each year. From 1983 to the present, a controlled clinical trial involving 80,000 children on a universal hepatitis B vaccination programme to prevent chronic hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and endstage cirrhosis was implemented in Qidong, China. A pilot study demonstrated that the HBsAg rate reached the adult level before the fifth year of age, and neonatal vaccination with either plasma-derived or recombinant hepatitis B vaccines provided a similar 75% protective efficacy against HBV infection. The high rate of follow-up and blood tests coverage of the cohorts provided data to show 75% protection at the tenth to eleventh years of age against serum HBsAg and also against prolonged hepatic dysfunction. The strategy of controlling hepatitis B nationwide was based on the universal immunisation of newborns, beginning in cities and then the rural areas. The large-scale vaccine source was provided by domestic plants through technology transfer, first providing plasma-derived vaccine replaced completely by recombinant DNA vaccine in 1997. An official survey in 1999 using a cluster sampling of 25,878 children from 31 provinces reported an average coverage rate of three dose of hepatitis B vaccination of 70.7%, being higher in urban areas. The Ministry of Public Health of China has planned to integrate hepatitis B vaccination into the nationwide EPI program with Government-provided vaccines starting January 1, 2002.

Inhibition of Autophagy Ameliorates Acute Lung Injury Caused by Avian Influenza A H5N1 Infection

Abstract: The threat of a new influenza pandemic has existed since 1997, when the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza A virus infected humans in Hong Kong and spread across Asia, where it continued to infect poultry and people. The human mortality rate of H5N1 infection is about 60%, whereas that of seasonal H1N1 infection is less than 0.1%. The high mortality rate associated with H5N1 infection is predominantly a result of respiratory failure caused by acute lung injury; however, how viral infection contributes to this disease pathology is unclear. Here, we used electron microscopy to show the accumulation of autophagosomes in H5N1-infected lungs from a human cadaver and mice, as well as in infected A549 human epithelial lung cells. We also showed that H5N1, but not seasonal H1N1, induced autophagic cell death in alveolar epithelial cells through a pathway involving the kinase Akt, the tumor suppressor protein TSC2, and the mammalian target of rapamycin. Additionally, we suggest that the hemagglutinin protein of H5N1 may be responsible for stimulating autophagy. When applied prophylactically, reagents that blocked virus-induced autophagic signaling substantially increased the survival rate of mice and substantially ameliorated the acute lung injury and mortality caused by H5N1 infection. We conclude that the autophagic cell death of alveolar epithelial cells likely plays a crucial role in the high mortality rate of H5N1 infection, and we suggest that autophagy-blocking agents might be useful as prophylactics and therapeutics against infection of humans by the H5N1 virus.

A single FLOTAC is more sensitive than triplicate Kato-Katz for the diagnosis of low-intensity soil-transmitted helminth infections.

Abstract: Accurate diagnostic tools are pivotal for patient management and surveillance of helminth control programmes, particularly in the current era of preventive chemotherapy. Three consecutive stool samples were obtained from 279 schoolchildren from Zanzibar, an island where anthelminthic drugs have been administered on a large scale for more than a decade. All stool samples were examined with the Kato-Katz method. Additionally, one sample per child was preserved in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin solution, and examined with the FLOTAC technique. Considering the pooled results of both methods as diagnostic 'gold' standard, the observed prevalences of Trichuris trichiura, hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides were 63.4, 35.8 and 22.9%, respectively. The sensitivity of examining a single stool sample by FLOTAC for diagnosing T. trichiura, hookworm and A. lumbricoides was 88.7, 83.0 and 82.8%, respectively. Lower sensitivities were observed for Kato-Katz even after examining three stool samples: 71.8, 46.0 and 70.3%, respectively. Kato-Katz revealed considerably higher infection intensities than FLOTAC. The kappa agreement between a single FLOTAC and triplicate Kato-Katz was 0.63 for diagnosing A. lumbricoides and 0.50 for T. trichiura, but only 0.30 for hookworm. The high sensitivity of FLOTAC holds promise for patient management, monitoring soil-transmitted helminth transmission and endpoint(s) of control at the population level.

Trends in the distribution of body mass index among Chinese adults, aged 20–45 years (1989–2000)

Abstract: To describe body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) distribution patterns and trends among Chinese adults, aged 20–45 years (1989–2000). A descriptive, population-based study of BMI change. Chinese provinces (eight in 1989 and 1997; nine in 2000), representative of the household-based surveys (the China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1989–2000) using multistage, random cluster sampling, supplemented with annual household consumption survey data of the State Statistical Bureau (SSB). A total of 4527, 4507 and 4046 adults, aged 20–45 years, in 1989, 1997 and 2000, respectively. BMI (underweight: BMI<18.5 kg/m2 and overweight: BMI⩾25 kg/m2). Percentile curves for BMI in 1989 and 2000 were constructed by gender and age using the LMS (lambda, mu, sigma) method. Compared with 1989, the 2000 BMI distribution curves flattened at higher levels of BMI (men and women). There was a 13.7% increase in the proportion of men and a 7.9% increase of women who were overweight or obese with a resulting greater change in the annualized prevalence rate for men. This increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was far greater than the decrease (2.1% for men; 2.2% for women) in that of underweight. Age–gender-specific percentile curves showed BMI increases mainly among women, aged 35–45 years, and among men at all age groups. Chinese BMI dynamics show much greater rates of change among men, aged 20–45 years, than among women, with the increase among women concentrated between ages 35 and 45 years. These changes portend large shifts in other diet-related non-communicable diseases in China over the following decades. Controlling the increasing trends of BMI, especially in men, is an important public health problem facing China.

Angiotensin II plasma levels are linked to disease severity and predict fatal outcomes in H7N9-infected patients

Abstract: A novel influenza A (H7N9) virus of avian origin emerged in eastern China in the spring of 2013. This virus causes severe disease in humans, including acute and often lethal respiratory failure. As of January 2014, 275 cases of H7N9-infected patients had been reported, highlighting the urgency of identifying biomarkers for predicting disease severity and fatal outcomes. Here, we show that plasma levels of angiotensin II, a major regulatory peptide of the renin-angiotensin system, are markedly elevated in H7N9 patients and are associated with disease progression. Moreover, the sustained high levels of angiotensin II in these patients are strongly correlated with mortality. The predictive value of angiotensin II is higher than that of C-reactive protein and some clinical parameters such as the PaO2/FiO2 ratio (partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen). Our findings indicate that angiotensin II is a biomarker for lethality in flu infections.