GUANGZHOU - The current epidemic prevention and control of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak still face a lot of problems and challenges, said renowned Chinese respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan.

The epidemic broke out in a certain area and medical resources were scarce, Zhong told Xinhua in an exclusive interview Sunday, noting that the government has been building two makeshift hospitals dedicated to fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan with a combined capacity of 2,300 beds, which will greatly relieve pressure of treatment.

Medical teams have been sent to Wuhan from across the country to provide assistance, while to ensure the distribution of medical supplies at the frontline, the government and social forces need to join force with each other, Zhong said.

He pointed out that to reduce the pressure of epidemic prevention and control, it is urgent to improve pathogen detection and diagnosis in community-level hospitals, thus to reposition patients concentrated in designated ones, which are limited.

"The 2019-nCoV infection can only be confirmed by pathogen diagnosis since it cannot be distinguished from other common respiratory virus infections, such as flu, through clinical manifestations in the early stage," Zhong said.

Zhong called for more efforts in the prevention and control of nosocomial infections since relative shortage of medical resources in Wuhan and other epidemic areas with a high incidence can easily lead to infections in hospitals, posing threats to the safety of medical workers and other people.

"Process management needs to be optimized to ensure the distribution of facilities, equipment and supplies in hospitals fighting at the frontline," Zhong said.