On June 26, the first academic exchange meeting of CDC-WIV Joint Research Center for Emerging Diseases and Biosafety was held at WIV. Wu Guizhen, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Institute for Viral Disease in Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Duan Zhaojun, Director Assistant of the Institute for Viral Disease, Lu Hao, Program Officer from Bureau of Frontier Sciences and Education of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xiao Gengfu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director General of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), CAS and He Changcai, Deputy Director General of WIV, CAS attended the exchange meeting.

The meeting focused on emerging infectious diseases and biosafety. Prof. Li Jiandong and Prof. Zhang Yong from China CDC made special reports on " Prevention and Control of China's Viral Hemorrhagic Fever" and "Ebola Survivors’ Detox Research" respectively. Subsequently, Xiao Gengfu issued letters of appointment to five visiting professors hired by the Joint Research Center.

At the meeting, Lu Hao pointed out that the Joint Research Center condensed the superior scientific and technological strength of China CDC and WIV, and will give full play to the role of the country's highest level biosafety laboratory platform to take emergency detection, diagnosis and prevention technologies for emerging infectious diseases. The Joint Research Center will try to enhance the technical response capability of China's severe infectious diseases and to better serve the major needs of national biosafety and prevention and control of infectious disease.

It is understood that, relying on the Joint Center, a total of 25 people in this round of China CDC received the “Infectious Diseases Emergency Detectability Training”, and studied the biosafety laboratory management system, laboratory waste treatment, and bacterial virus test operations. The theory training had already been completed in January in 2018. On June 26, two professional technicians from China CDC received field operation training and emergency drills at the Wuhan National Biosafety laboratory of CAS to obtain the qualifications for the highest-level biosafety laboratory.

The convening of this exchange meeting marks a new step in the substantive cooperation between the National Health Committee and CAS in the field of prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and biosafety. Through strong alliances and joint efforts, the both sides will build new front of prevention and control of infectious diseases, which will definitely ensure the health of our people and national biosecurity.