MoH to set up virus lab in epidemic-stricken Fuyang
Shanghai. May 8. INTERFAX-CHINA - The Ministry of Health has sent eight
experts to set up a virus laboratory in Anhui Province's Fuyang, the
eastern Chinese city where a hand, foot and mouth disease epidemic has
resulted in 22 deaths, according to a statement by the central
government yesterday.
The eight experts are from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (China CDC) and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Their agenda is to isolate the EV 71 virus, the virus which causes hand,
foot and mouth disease, as well as diagnose patients using molecular
biology and serological testing methods, and research the way the human
body reacts to the virus.
Meanwhile, the team will collect and examine samples for potential
vaccine development efforts in the future. They will also bring with
them specialized equipment to enable more rapid testing on-site.
Up to now, the detection of EV 71 has been made in Beijing and Hefei,
the provincial capital of Anhui.
"The establishment of the Fuyang virus lab will be helpful to disease
control efforts," Li Dexin, director of the Institute for Viral Disease
Control and Prevention under the China CDC, said according to the
statement.
"Experts have begun work on isolating the virus, and will release their
preliminary findings in about a week," Li said.
As of yesterday, state-backed media outlet, Xinhua news agency, reported
that almost 17,000 people had been infected with the virus around China
this year, though the epicenter of the outbreak of this disease is in
Fuyang. A total of 28 people have died from the disease so far this
year.
-KZ
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