Prevention, control of diseases improved

China's capacity for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and responding to emergency outbreaks has improved in the past eight years due to the implementation of a national project, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Due to the project, China has established a vast national network for monitoring infectious diseases that covers 12 core national labs, 91 key regional labs and more than 800 hospitals across China, Qin Huaijin, head of science and technology at the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said on Tuesday.

China is now able to identify about 300 kinds of human pathogens within 72 hours, and an initial system to screen unknown pathogens has been established in China, said Qin, who is also chief supervisor of the project.