Globally recognized health experts have gathered in Hainan, the southern island province of China, to advocate for intensified international cooperation in the fight against influenza and other respiratory infectious diseases. The 2024 World Influenza Conference, held in the coastal town of Boao, concluded on Sunday after two days of insightful discussions and collaborative exchanges.
Under the theme “Integrated Prevention and Control From Influenza to Respiratory Infectious Diseases,” the conference brought together approximately 100 experts and public health professionals from around the world. Their collective goal was to enhance pandemic response capabilities by sharing advanced prevention and control technologies, ultimately building a global consensus on the critical importance of influenza prevention.
Participants acknowledged China’s significant contributions to global influenza monitoring and prevention. With one of the world’s most extensive and effective infectious disease surveillance systems, China can monitor influenza activity and epidemic trends in real time. This capability provides a scientific basis for global reagent research and development, vaccine selection, and medication use.
Li Bin, deputy head of the National Health Commission and president of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, emphasized China’s active participation in global influenza prevention efforts. “We have been timely reporting epidemics, sharing virus strains, and supporting capacity-building in developing countries for influenza prevention and control,” Li stated.
Experts at the conference highlighted ongoing challenges in influenza prevention and control, including global climate change, urbanization, intensified animal husbandry, and increased cross-border trade. These factors contribute to the mutation and recombination of influenza viruses and the occasional transmission of animal-derived influenza to humans, keeping the risk of influenza pandemics ever-present.
“We all know that if we are not able to work together and collaboratively, the virus will win, so we need to stay together,” said Sylvie Briand, Executive Head of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board secretariat, co-convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank.
Sun Yang, deputy director of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, outlined China’s plans to upgrade its online infectious disease reporting system, strengthen comprehensive risk monitoring from humans to animals and the environment, and enhance pathogen identification capabilities. “We will strengthen cooperation with the WHO and conduct extensive international exchanges to share practices in monitoring, early warning, and emergency preparedness,” Sun said.
The experts concluded that preventing and controlling influenza and other respiratory infectious diseases is a long-term and challenging task. They called for closer collaboration between governments and all sectors of society to raise public awareness, develop more advanced and affordable vaccines and medications, and reduce the response time for implementing prevention and control measures.
