title: Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China.
abstract: China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world's population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. However, infectious diseases still remain a major population health issue and this may be exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unprecedented impacts of climate change. This commentary aims to explore China's current capacity to manage infectious diseases which impair population health. It discusses the existing disease surveillance system and underscores the critical importance of strengthening the system. It also explores how the growing migrant population, dramatic changes in the natural landscape following rapid urbanization, and changing climatic conditions can contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease. Continuing research on infectious diseases, urbanization and climate change may inform the country's capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. michael.tong@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Michael Xiaoliang
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. alana.hansen@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. scott.hanson-easey@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hanson-Easey
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. scott.cameron@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. jianjun.xiang@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China. liuqiyong@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. sun611007@163.com.
authors.forename: Yehuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaid 5005, Australia. philip.weinstein@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weinstein
authors.affiliation: Communications and Media Studies, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Australia. gil-soo.han@monash.edu.
authors.forename: Gil-Soo
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia. craig.williams@unisa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. peng.bi@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bi
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D057231:Climate Change; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D011158:Population Growth; D011634:Public Health; D014507:Urbanization
keywords: challenges; climate change; disease control and prevention; disease surveillance; infectious disease; urbanization