Int'l conference on vector-borne diseases held in south China

HAIKOU, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- An international conference on the sustainable control of vector-borne infectious diseases opened Tuesday in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province.

With the aim of coping with global changes, controlling vectors, and protecting the health of all population groups, the conference was attended by more than 300 international academicians, experts, and scholars.

Over the past 10 years or so, China became one of the first countries to eradicate filariasis and was granted by the World Health Organization (WHO) the certification of malaria elimination, as bilharziasis is also currently on the brink of elimination in China, according to the experts.

China has switched its approach to vector-borne diseases from passive emergency control to proactive risk management and control in recent years. The country contributed to building a malaria-free world by sharing its experience, said Liu Qiyong, head of the WHO Collaborating Center for Vector Surveillance and Management and chief expert of vector control at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Zhang Bike, an official with the CDC, said that back in 2006, there were still over 60,000 cases of malaria and 20,000 cases of epidemic hemorrhagic fever in China, and it took the country just over 10 years to get them under control. He added that China has made historic achievements in preventing and controlling such diseases.

China should continue to innovate its strategy and technology for preventing and controlling vector-borne diseases and further benefit China and the world with the innovative concept of sustainable control of vectors, according to Li Guanglin, an official with the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.