China has begun using an advanced method based on gene analysis to diagnose diseases.
The Ministry of Health has authorized 10 hospitals to open gene diagnosis laboratories on a trial basis, sources said.
With the help of computers, doctors can precisely detect 20 viruses by examining a patient's saliva, blood or urine, according to doctors at No.1 Medical College Hospital in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, one of the first authorized hospitals.
Diagnosis based on gene analysis is quicker and more accurate than conventional means, the doctors said.
However, because of some technical problems, the new method cannot totally replace the conventional diagnostic means, they added.
China is one of the several countries that successfully drew the picture of genome.
(People’s Daily)
