The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Pakistan's National Institute of Health held a seminar on preventing and controlling major communicable diseases and promoting advanced molecular diagnosis technology earlier this month.

The major diseases covered in the seminar include poliomyelitis and influenza.

Located in South Asia and a neighbor of China, Pakistan has witnessed marked increase in polio cases this year as compared to 2018.

Despite rich experience tackling communicable diseases, Pakistan lacks advanced equipment and personnel, and its technical needs are high. Healthcare institutions and colleges have a strong will to learn and master advanced molecular diagnostic techniques, with emphasis on gene-based point of care testing) and the Chinese-patented recombinase aided isothermal amplification technology.

During the seminar, experts from the China CDC and NIH Pakistan introduced work and experiences from poliomyelitis and influenza prevention and control in the two countries, also discussing recent incidence of the diseases in Pakistan.

China CDC experts also conducted a Molecular Diagnosis and Pathogen Determination Training Program by China CDC for their Pakistani counterparts, which was well-received by the Pakistani peers.

This seminar created a platform for public health communication and cooperation between China and Pakistan, something of great importance to public health cooperation between the countries under the Belt and Road initiative.

Feng Ning contributed to the story.