Pandemic habits important in other diseases
Keeping your distance, wearing a mask and washing hands carefully can help greatly reduce the prevalence of almost all infectious diseases, including novel coronavirus, according to Dr Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert who identified the SARS virus in 2003 and is currently leading the China's efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
The incidence of all the 40 infectious diseases included in China’s reporting system dropped in the first half of this year. That means good hygienic habits people have formed during the pandemic have had an effect in disease prevention and control, Zhong told a medical forum in the city on Friday.
Leading medical experts were in Shanghai for the “Under COVID-19, The Changed and Changing Landscape of Public Health” forum to discuss their experiences and lessons learned from the pandemic and its effects on health care in China and the world in the future.
“The cases of the 40 infectious diseases reduced by 25 percent compared with the average level in the past three years,” Zhong said. “The flu cases in all of China’s surveillance hospitals also dropped greatly — 63.9 percent for southern provinces and 81.6 percent for northern provinces.”
He said the world should rebuild the health service system after the novel coronavirus pandemic from treatment-centered to people’s health-centered.
“The coronavirus pandemic gives us an important enlightenment, as we should prevent diseases instead of giving treatment after the disease takes place and becomes serious,” he said.
Many diseases have no symptoms or light symptoms in their early stage, so they are ignored by patients and even doctors. Treating diseases when they are in their middle or terminal stages can be ineffective and expensive.
“Disease prevention and early intervention are extremely important,” he said.
Zhong also stressed the importance of mental health amid the current pandemic, as there had been a large increase of acute stress disorders such anxiety, depression and insomnia.
He said mental health should not be ignored as it could worsen the disease and cause other social problems. It is urgent to cultivate and train more medical staff to give psychological direction and treatment, he said.
Dr Zhong Nanshan, who leads the China's fight against COVID-19, speaks at the forum in Shanghai on Friday.
Dr Zhong Nanshan said habits learned during the pandemic had reduced the incidence of other infectious diseases.
