More efforts urged to strengthen respiratory medicine

More efforts should be made to strengthen respiratory medicine, including cultivating talent, to contribute to better prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease in China, and better cope with possible future outbreaks of major infectious diseases, said Wang Chen, president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

While the COVID-19 outbreak has been contained on the Chinese mainland, "we can never underestimate the insidiousness of the virus, and become lax in its control and prevention efforts at any rate," Wang said at a seminar on the development of respiratory medicine in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, on Monday.

"We only have very limited knowledge on the novel coronavirus, and we are far from clear on its evolution, and its impact on human health, society and the economy," he said. "It is our duty, as professionals in respiratory diseases, to keep doing research and formulate effective prevention, control and treatment methods for the virus."

Respiratory disease professionals have played a key role in rescuing seriously ill COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, the major battlefield of epidemic control in China, Wang said.

Of more than 42,000 medical workers sent to Hubei province from across China to aid in the treatment of patients in the province, at least 6,000 are professionals in respiratory and critical care medicine, he said.

However, compared with many other medical disciplines, respiratory medicine is lagging behind, which requires urgent efforts to reduce the gap, Wang said, adding improving cultivation and training of talent is of the utmost importance.

In addition, more efforts are needed to empower respiratory medicine departments in hospitals across China, in particular Hubei province, the center of the epidemic in China, focusing on improving their standardization, Wang said.

Empowering respiratory medicine can also help China better prepare to cope with possible outbreaks of other major infectious diseases, Wang said.

"Throughout human history, the two biggest infectious diseases were both respiratory diseases -- the black death and the flu epidemic in 1918," he said. "It is expected that future infectious diseases that result in upheavals in human society will continue to be respiratory infectious diseases."