Outbreak group visits 5th Central Hospital in Tianjin

On its first day in the field, the outbreak group had the good fortune of visiting a showcase hospital in Tianjin. They watched as the CDC communicable disease staff administered a questionnaire about measles to 5th Central physicians who had diagnosed a handful of 640 measles cases diagnosed in the city of 11 million thus far in 2008. SPH students had worked with the CDC staff on a couple of new questions for the survey in the morning, in a long discussion about possible reasons for the 600-percent increase for winter-onset measles cases the city is currently experiencing. Having a chance to walk through a Chinese hospital's emergency room and pediatric wards was an incredible opportunity. The nurses and doctors were willing to take time to talk about what they do, how they report diagnosis of infectious disease (twice a day via the Internet), how they decide to refer patients to the stand-alone infectious disease hospital not far away.