THE Chinese government has issued new guidelines on dealing with Ebola, in response to the ongoing epidemic in West Africa.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission on Thursday distributed to 31 provincial health departments a protocol for the diagnosis, treatment and fast response to the virus.
The document outlines the symptoms of the disease, and advises medical workers on how to handle suspected cases, treat confirmed cases and the circumstances under which a person might be released under observation.
On Tuesday, the commission issued similar guidelines to border control agencies on how to transfer suspected Ebola cases and people under medical observation.
Dong Xiaoping, a research fellow at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier this month that customs checks should be strengthened as the virus could enter China, but the possibility of an outbreak in the country is extremely low.
Also on Thursday, the commission banned Ebola-related experiments in the country without government approval.
It ordered virus nurturing and animal infection tests to be conducted only in labs with biosafety level-4 standards and that waste from Ebola experiments be sterilized prior to disposal.
Also, the packaging and transportation of Ebola samples must be done according to first-class standards, it said.
Ebola has killed more than 1,400 people in West Africa this year. The World Health Organization on Friday said the scale of the outbreak has been underestimated. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/China-issues-Ebola-health-guidelines/shdaily.shtml
The National Health and Family Planning Commission on Thursday distributed to 31 provincial health departments a protocol for the diagnosis, treatment and fast response to the virus.
The document outlines the symptoms of the disease, and advises medical workers on how to handle suspected cases, treat confirmed cases and the circumstances under which a person might be released under observation.
On Tuesday, the commission issued similar guidelines to border control agencies on how to transfer suspected Ebola cases and people under medical observation.
Dong Xiaoping, a research fellow at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier this month that customs checks should be strengthened as the virus could enter China, but the possibility of an outbreak in the country is extremely low.
Also on Thursday, the commission banned Ebola-related experiments in the country without government approval.
It ordered virus nurturing and animal infection tests to be conducted only in labs with biosafety level-4 standards and that waste from Ebola experiments be sterilized prior to disposal.
Also, the packaging and transportation of Ebola samples must be done according to first-class standards, it said.
Ebola has killed more than 1,400 people in West Africa this year. The World Health Organization on Friday said the scale of the outbreak has been underestimated. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/China-issues-Ebola-health-guidelines/shdaily.shtml
