Emergence and control of infectious diseases in China
TL;DR: Infectious diseases remain the major causes of morbidity and mortality in China despite substantial progress in their control and can serve as a model for worldwide surveillance and response to threats from infectious diseases.
About: This article is published in The Lancet.The article was published on 2008-11-01 and is currently open access. It has received 327 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Infectious disease (medical specialty) & Communicable disease transmission.
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TL;DR: A comprehensive assessment of disease burden in China, how it changed between 1990 and 2010, and how China's health burden compares with other nations is done to guide policy responses to the changing disease spectrum in China.
1,636 citations
TL;DR: The pace of reform should be moderated to allow service providers to develop absorptive capacity, and independent, outcome-based monitoring and evaluation by a third-party are essential for mid-course correction of the plans and to make officials and providers accountable.
971 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive overview of pandemics and their effects is provided to help contextualise the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on tourism and government, industry and consumer response.
Abstract: Disease outbreaks and pandemics have long played a role in societal and economic change. However, the nature of such change is selective, meaning that it is sometimes minimal and, at other times, and change or transformation may be unexpected, potentially even reinforcing contemporary paradigms. A comprehensive overview of pandemics and their effects is provided. This is used to help contextualise the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on tourism and government, industry and consumer response. Drawing on the available literature, factors that will affect tourism and destination recovery are then identified. Some measures will continue or even expand present growth orientations in tourism while others may contribute to sustainability. It is concluded that that the selective nature of the effects of COVID-19 and the measures to contain it may lead to reorientation of tourism in some cases, but in others will contribute to policies reflecting the selfish nationalism of some countries. However, the response to planetary limits and sustainable tourism requires a global approach. Despite clear evidence of this necessity, the possibility for a comprehensive transformation of the tourism system remains extremely limited without a fundamental transformation of the entire planet.
661 citations
Cites background from "Emergence and control of infectious..."
...…outbreak, the expansion of the interface of contact between humans, wildlife, and livestock has been a major outcome of urbanisation processes in China (Chmura, 2017; Wang et al., 2008; Wu et al., 2018), as well as in other countries (Allen et al., 2017; Connolly et al., 2020; Kogan et al., 2019)....
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TL;DR: A number of epidemiological studies on air pollution and population health have been conducted in China, using time-series, case-crossover, cross-sectional, cohort, panel or intervention designs.
580 citations
TL;DR: With economic boom and growing government revenues, China is unlike other countries challenged by health inequities and can afford the necessary reforms so that economic development goes hand-in-hand with improved health equity.
452 citations
References
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TL;DR: It is reported that species of bats are a natural host of coronaviruses closely related to those responsible for the SARS outbreak, and these viruses display greater genetic variation than SARS-CoV isolated from humans or from civets.
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in 2002 to 2003 in southern China. The origin of its etiological agent, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), remains elusive. Here we report that species of bats are a natural host of coronaviruses closely related to those responsible for the SARS outbreak. These viruses, termed SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs), display greater genetic variation than SARS-CoV isolated from humans or from civets. The human and civet isolates of SARS-CoV nestle phylogenetically within the spectrum of SL-CoVs, indicating that the virus responsible for the SARS outbreak was a member of this coronavirus group.
2,263 citations
TL;DR: In a surveillance study for CoV in noncaged animals from the wild areas of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, a CoV closely related to SARS-CoV is identified from 23 (39%) of 59 anal swabs of wild Chinese horseshoe bats by using RT-PCR and the presence of a 29-bp insertion in ORF 8 of bat-SARS- coV genome suggests that it has a common ancestor with civet SARS -CoV.
Abstract: Although the finding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in caged palm civets from live animal markets in China has provided evidence for interspecies transmission in the genesis of the SARS epidemic, subsequent studies suggested that the civet may have served only as an amplification host for SARS-CoV. In a surveillance study for CoV in noncaged animals from the wild areas of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, we identified a CoV closely related to SARS-CoV (bat-SARS-CoV) from 23 (39%) of 59 anal swabs of wild Chinese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus sinicus) by using RT-PCR. Sequencing and analysis of three bat-SARS-CoV genomes from samples collected at different dates showed that bat-SARS-CoV is closely related to SARS-CoV from humans and civets. Phylogenetic analysis showed that bat-SARS-CoV formed a distinct cluster with SARS-CoV as group 2b CoV, distantly related to known group 2 CoV. Most differences between the bat-SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV genomes were observed in the spike genes, ORF 3 and ORF 8, which are the regions where most variations also were observed between human and civet SARS-CoV genomes. In addition, the presence of a 29-bp insertion in ORF 8 of bat-SARS-CoV genome, not in most human SARS-CoV genomes, suggests that it has a common ancestor with civet SARS-CoV. Antibody against recombinant bat-SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein was detected in 84% of Chinese horseshoe bats by using an enzyme immunoassay. Neutralizing antibody to human SARS-CoV also was detected in bats with lower viral loads. Precautions should be exercised in the handling of these animals.
1,419 citations
TL;DR: There was continuous circulation in east and Southeast Asia via a region-wide network of temporally overlapping epidemics and that epidemics in the temperate regions were seeded from this network each year, suggesting that once A (H3N2) viruses leave E-SE Asia, they are unlikely to contribute to long-term viral evolution.
Abstract: Antigenic and genetic analysis of the hemagglutinin of approximately 13,000 human influenza A (H3N2) viruses from six continents during 2002-2007 revealed that there was continuous circulation in east and Southeast Asia (E-SE Asia) via a region-wide network of temporally overlapping epidemics and that epidemics in the temperate regions were seeded from this network each year. Seed strains generally first reached Oceania, North America, and Europe, and later South America. This evidence suggests that once A (H3N2) viruses leave E-SE Asia, they are unlikely to contribute to long-term viral evolution. If the trends observed during this period are an accurate representation of overall patterns of spread, then the antigenic characteristics of A (H3N2) viruses outside E-SE Asia may be forecast each year based on surveillance within E-SE Asia, with consequent improvements to vaccine strain selection.
689 citations
TL;DR: The fragile and limited production capacity of the authors' 1950s egg-based technology for producing influenza vaccine and the lack of a national commitment to universal annual influenza vaccination mean that influenza epidemics will continue to present a substantial public health challenge.
Abstract: The fragile and limited production capacity of our 1950s egg-based technology for producing influenza vaccine and the lack of a national commitment to universal annual influenza vaccination mean that influenza epidemics will continue to present a substantial public health challenge. Dr. Michael Osterholm asks, So how can we prepare?
625 citations