China Urged Prevention against Respiratory 'Killer'

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 21, 2002

China Urged Prevention against Respiratory 'Killer'

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Chinese medical experts urged more efforts on the prevention and control of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), one of the world's main killers, on the first annual World COPD Day, which fell on Wednesday.

COPD is a devastating disease that progressively restricts a person's ability to breathe. According to Thursday's China Daily,more than 2.75 million people worldwide have been killed by the fatal disease each year and the number is still rising.

According to medical professionals, most patients with the disease have a long history of heavy cigarette smoking,

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 600 million people suffer from COPD, and more than half of them are undiagnosed.

In China, more than three out of every 100 people are thought to have COPD.

"The incidence of COPD has stayed high globally in recent years,while the public has failed to pay enough attention to it," said Professor Zhao Mingwu with the Chinese Medical Association.

Professor He Quanying, with the Beijing People's Hospital, saidearly diagnosis and treatment were critical for the control of COPD.

He said, a breathing test can help identify early signs of COPDand effective measures can be taken to control the disease.

"These include giving up smoking, improving indoor and out door air quality, and taking medicine for bronchium diastole," said He.

COPD ranks as the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and the WHO estimates that it will go up to the third by 2020.

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