China and the World Health Organization said Monday they are setting up a center to fight infectious diseases.

 

The center, scheduled to open Tuesday at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong Province, will focus on forecasting and monitoring of emerging infectious diseases as well as training and research, WHO and the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

 

"The center in Guangdong is a milestone in China's contribution to global public health," vice minister of health Huang Jiefu was quoted as saying. "It reflects our country's commitment to playing a prominent role in this regard, at an especially critical moment in public health history."

 

The center will become a training base in Guangdong and other southern provinces of China and may expand to become a training center for neighboring countries, the statement said.

 

"We know from SARS and avian influenza that what happens in one country affects another," Dr Omi, WHO regional director for the western pacific was quoted as saying. "China is helping WHO and the world implement lessons learned from recent emerging infectious diseases for the national, regional and global public health good."

 

The center will also work with the Guangdong CDC laboratory to detect emerging infectious diseases, including influenza, the statement said.

 

The center will carry out epidemiological research and study the origin of diseases that can be spread from animals, it said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2006)