HHS SECRETARY TO VISIT CHINA

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today began a week-long mission to several cities in China.  His focus is to improve international cooperation and collaboration in the fight against infectious diseases such as avian and pandemic influenza, tuberculosis and HIV.

“International cooperation is the key to protecting the lives and health of people at home and abroad.  This trip will provide firsthand knowledge the challenge of preventing and treating avian and pandemic flu, HIV and other emerging infectious diseases in China,” Secretary Leavitt said.  “It will also help us build stronger relationships among scientists and policymakers that will facilitate the dissemination of real-time information and the prompt sharing of epidemiological data and samples so potential outbreaks can be quickly identified and contained.”

Rapid access to reliable information about potential outbreaks of avian flu is a critical element of our global preparedness, and governments must commit to complete transparency in the timely reporting of novel influenza cases in humans and animals. Epidemiological data and samples must be promptly shared with the World Health Organization and the international community, and international teams of scientists must be granted entry into countries at the first signs of accelerated transmission of H5N1 and other highly transmissible influenza strains so outbreaks can be quickly identified and contained. 

The trip will include stops in Chengdu, Guangzhou and Beijing.  Formal and working meetings with government officials will be complimented with trips to a rural village where people who have suffered from H5N1 infection in the past, site visits to local hospitals and laboratories, a live market where people buy freshly killed poultry and other animals and a roundtable discussion with local officials, American businessmen and medical students.  ADM Dr. John Agwunobi, a pediatrician who is the Assistant Secretary of Health, will accompany him on this fact-finding mission.

In each city, the Secretary will hold meetings with top government officials in the bureau of health and provincial leadership in order to share experiences and best practices in fighting infectious diseases.  Other highlights of his trip include:

• Chengdu – The Secretary will spend part of December 9th in Yujian village.  While there, he will visit the village clinic, Tangjia Township Hospital and meet with a young girl who recovered from infection with the H5N1 virus.  In addition, he will observe health information technology systems that are improving health care delivery for patients of Sichuan Province People’s Hospital.
• Guangzhou – A highlight will be the Secretary’s visit to Guangzhou Number 8 Hospital, which specializes in treating people with infectious diseases.  The Secretary will visit key wards, notably the SARS, influenza and HIV/AIDS wards.  He will also stop at a Guangzhou Orphanage – all US adoptions of Chinese children are processed through Guangzhou and amounted to nearly 7,000 babies in 2005. In addition, he will hold a question and answer session about health care systems with medical students at Sun Yet-Sen University. 
• Beijing --  While in the Chinese capital, the Secretary will visit the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to observe their real-time infectious disease surveillance and reporting system.  He will also hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new US-China Emerging Infections Program Office.  The Secretary’s visit will also include meetings with Minister of Health Gao Quiang and the Ministry of Science and Technology Xu Guanha.

After these visits, Secretary Leavitt will participate in the Strategic Economic Dialogue.  The dialogue was launched by Presidents Bush and Hu in September to provide a new forum for discussing ways the U.S. and China can work together to ensure that people in both countries benefit fairly from the growing bilateral economic relationship. While in Beijing, the U.S. delegation will hold a number of meetings with their Chinese counterparts discussing a range of issues including assuring continued global growth, China's further integration into the world trading system, stable energy markets, and cooperation on the environment.  Including Secretary Leavitt, there are 10 Cabinet level officials participating in this two-day meeting.