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Weekly Review of Health News in China
Following are the highlights of major news on health care and medical research in China over the past week:
Overweight And Malnutrition: Coexisting Health Problems Although general nutrition conditions of Chinese students have greatly improved over the past decades, 34.7 percent of boys and 43.8 percent of girls still suffer from malnutrition in varying degrees, and nearly 32.9 percent of boys and 38.8 percent of girls are underweight.
Meanwhile, more and more kids are eating a lot more unhealthy food. Overweight and obesity among urban boys has surpassed 12 percent. Many of them have a high risk of suffering from cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes.
More Chinese Become Overweight, Obesity It is estimated that 18 out of every 100 people in China are overweight. The rate of obesity has reached 2.48 percent, which means at least 30 million people older than 20 are overweight. Overweight among people aged between 35-59 has even surpassed 50 percent, the average level in some developed countries. Residents in north China, especially males in Beijing and females in Shandong Province, run higher risk of having extra weight than those in the south. Females and urban residents are more likely to become fat than males and rural people.
Anti-Cancer Element Produced Chinese scientists have produced a kind of chemical element through artificial synthesize which can fight tumor cells. It is the first time in the world the element has been produced through artificial synthesize since foreign scientists discovered the anti-cancer function of saponin, which is separated from a South African plant.
China Issues Rule on JV Hospitals China has renewed administrative measures governing Sino-overseas joint-venture (JV) hospitals and clinics, hoping the sector's sound development can provide people a wide range of health care services.
According to a rule newly-published by ministries of health and foreign trade and economic cooperation, overseas hospitals and firms can launch joint ventures in China after they get permission from the two ministries. Solely overseas-funded hospitals are still not allowed in China.
Vaccine against Pork Tapeworm Developed Chinese scientists have successfully developed a new vaccine that can efficiently prevent the spread of cysticercus cellulosae, the pork tapeworm.
Pigs receiving one or two injections of the vaccine are immunized from the disease.
Both humans and pigs are susceptible to pork tapeworm infection, and the disease has been widely spread in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
90 Percent Of Obese Children Suffer from Fatty Liver A survey has shown that as high as 90 percent of obese children in north China's port city of Tianjin suffer from fatty liver disease.
The survey on 1,200-plus obese children revealed that the blood fat level in these children is much higher than other children of the same age. Thirty-five percent of the rather fat children suffer from high blood pressure.
China to Formulate New Rules on Medical Accidents After exhaustive consultation with experts concerned, the Ministry of Health seems to have made up its mind to replace the 12-year-old medical-accident-handling rules with new rules expected to be issued in October.
At present, medical-accident disputes are often judged by experts from local hospitals, whose judgments are invariably biased.
U.S. Foundation Donates to China's Rural Health Care The Chinese Foundation (CF) based in the United States announced a donation Thursday of 500,000 U.S. dollars to aid health care work in China's poor rural areas.
The money will be used to set up rural clinics, purchase medical equipment, provide health care for pregnant women, and further immunization and tuberculosis control in Gansu, a less-developed inland province in northwest China.
Chinese Hospitals to Be Divided into Commercial and Non-profit Hospitals in China will be separated into two categories -- commercial and non-profit -- to satisfy the varying demands for medical services.
Non-profit hospitals are mainly run by local governments, enterprises, communities and non-governmental organizations, and should guarantee basic medical care for the public, putting any profits into improving medical equipment and introducing new technology.
Commercial hospitals will have the freedom to decide their own fees, but will have to pay taxes according to regulations. China Reforms Urban Medical Care System China has launched a key reform of the urban medical care system with the aim of ensuring affordable, fair, and quality medical services for everyone under a socialist market economy. Major elements of the reform slated for the next two to three years include allowing the establishment of for-profit hospitals, improving community-based medical services, and lowering the price for medicines and medical services.
Government Urged to Control Spread of HIV/AIDS Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have urged the government to take measures to control the spread of HIV/AIDS to avoid a future crisis.
The key to harnessing the deadly infectious disease lies in the prevention of HIV/AIDS among drug addicts, prostitutes, homosexuals and other people who are under greater threat of the disease, experts from the Division of Biology in the CAS pointed out in a report to the State Council.
Chinese to Learn About Safe Drug Use A week-long campaign to spread knowledge about prescription and non-prescription drugs among ordinary people was launched across China beginning this weekend.
More than 2.6 million pamphlets and posters are expected to be handed out to inform people how to correctly use both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.
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