China's Ministry of Health has allocated 30 million yuan(US$3.63 million) to upgrade disinfecting equipment of stomatologic hospitals to prevent cross-infection in the course of treatment, Beijing Morning Post reports Thursday.
The scheme was launched in 1999 on a trial basis in an effort to set up a complete disinfecting system in the country.
The Stomatology Hospital of Beijing University, cited as an example by the paper, sterilized all the tooth tools used in operation in three steps. First, tooth drills, pincers, pinheads and other equipment were washed under a high-pressure tap. Then the tools were put into a computer-controlled heater for disinfecting. Finally, they passed through a sterilization process.
AIDS virus is frail compared with hepatitis B virus. The former can be killed at temperatures above 56 degrees Celsius, said Wei Keli, president of the Stomatologic Hospital of Beijing University.
The disinfecting system will be used in other stomatology hospitals, the paper says.
(People's Daily December 20, 2001)
