(Eagle News) – China and the World Health Organization (WHO) both agreed to have international experts visit the country which is now at the center of the deadly 2019 novel coronavirus that has so far claimed more than 130 lives.
This was the consensus in a meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 28, between WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The two officials “shared the latest information on the novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) outbreak and reiterated their commitment to bring it under control,” a news release from WHO said.
Both sides agreed for WHO to immediately send international experts to visit China and work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts.
Dr. Tedros, WHO Director-General, said that “stopping the spread of this virus both in China and globally is WHO’s highest priority.”
“We appreciate the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment from top leadership, and the transparency they have demonstrated, including sharing data and genetic sequence of the virus,” he said.
-WHO to work side-by-side with China-
“WHO is working closely with the government on measures to understand the virus and limit transmission. WHO will keep working side-by-side with China and all other countries to protect health and keep people safe,” he added.
On Jan. 10, Chinese scientists posted the 2019 novel coronavirus’ genetic makeup on a public database, enabling other countries’ scientists and experts to study it and try to develop a vaccine for the virus.
They include researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center in Maryland who, within hours were able to pinpoint the “genetic code that could be used to make a vaccine,” according to New York Times report.
The WHO delegation said that it highly appreciated the actions that China has so far implemented in response to the outbreak, including “its speed in identifying the virus and openness to sharing information with WHO and other countries.”
In the WHO meeting with China’s President Xi, Dr Tedros was joined by WHO Regional Director Dr Takeshi Kasai and Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme Dr Mike Ryan. They also met China’s State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei.
WHO said that China’s National Health Commission presented the country’s strong public health capacities and resources to respond and manage respiratory disease outbreaks.
“The discussions focused on continued collaboration on containment measures in Wuhan, public health measures in other cities and provinces, conducting further studies on the severity and transmissibility of the virus, continuing to share data, and for China to share biological material with WHO,” a statement from WHO said.
“These measures will advance scientific understanding of the virus and contribute to the development of medical countermeasures such as vaccines and treatments,” it said.
The WHO mission comes as the number of people confirmed with the virus rose to over 4500 globally, most of which are in China. So far, the death toll has reached 132, all also in China.
“Much remains to be understood about 2019-nCoV. The source of the outbreak and the extent to which it has spread in China are not yet known. While the current understanding of the disease remains limited, most cases reported to date have been milder, with around 20% of those infected experiencing severe illness,” it said.
WHO and China both said that the number of cases being reported on nCoV infections, including those outside China, are “deeply concerning.”
“Better understanding of the transmissibility and severity of the virus is urgently required to guide other countries on appropriate response measures,” said the WHO statement from Beijing.