The Director of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, Dr. John Nkengasong, wrote a glowing commentary in the journal Nature about China’s handling of the situation so far. It’s not immediately clear as to what may have prompted Dr. Nkengasong to comment on this time while the crisis is still ongoing.
Here are three areas where Dr. Nkengasong feels that China has improved its handling of an infectious disease outbreak since the SARS epidemic in 2002:
- IMPROVED COMMUNICATION: “It is clear that in just under two decades, China has made remarkable progress in responding effectively to disease outbreaks. First, a notable change in public-health political posture has allowed China to admit, very early on, the existence of a novel coronavirus. “
- SWIFT ACTION: “The government was decisive in closing the seafood market in Wuhan, borrowing lessons from the 2002 SARS outbreak, which was brought to an end only when the palm civet that is eaten in China was subsequently identified as the reservoir and was removed from markets.”
- ENHANCED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT: “The rapid development of a national and international consortium helped in the swift analysis of the virus and in making the sequences publicly available within a few days. In contrast, the first laboratory sequences suggesting that a new coronavirus was the cause of SARS were reported on 24 March 2003, 5 months after the first cases were recognized in November 2002.”
