A white paper noted that the contribution of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrated Chinese and Western medicine in treating SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) has been affirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Also, TCM treatment of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 has yielded satisfactory results, arousing widespread attention in the international community, said the white paper titled "Traditional Chinese Medicine in China", which was released by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.
The white paper went on and said that TCM has made distinctive contributions to the prevention and control of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), HFMD (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease), and Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 in humans, as well as to medical relief following the Wenchuan earthquake, the Zhouqu mudslide and other public emergencies and natural disasters.
In recent years, China has strengthened work in the prevention and control of AIDS and malaria in developing countries, and in African countries in particular, sending a total of 400 TCM specialists to more than 40 countries including Tanzania, Comoros, and Indonesia.
Moreover, the document mentioned the progress made in TCM scientific research.
The document cited the example of Tu Youyou, a Chinese researcher who won the 2011 Lasker Award in clinical medicine and the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering qinghaosu (artemisinin).
Also, Wang Zhenyi and Chen Zhu were awarded the Seventh Annual Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research for combining the Western medicine ATRA and the TCM compound arsenic trioxide to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the white paper said.
