Doctors declare war on a deadly chest disease too long ignored by its victims

Mainland doctors are urging people with persistent coughs, shortness of breath and other lung problems to seek medical attention soon in an effort to reduce the country's disproportionate number of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The warning came this week as the international health community marked World COPD Day to raise awareness of the disease, which the World Health Organisation says is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

China accounts for more than 43 million of the estimated 210 million people globally who suffer from the disease, which is caused by smoking and pollution and includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

While that number is roughly proportionate to China's share of the global population - a fifth - it accounts for more than a third of those who die from COPD.

Health authorities say that is because many Chinese suffering from the disease wait too long to see a doctor. The most recent national COPD survey, in 2000 by leading respiratory health expert Dr Zhong Nanshan , estimated that just nearly two-thirds of cases go undiagnosed.

The diagnosis rate remains low more than decade later due to poor awareness among patients and doctors alike, said Dr Bai Chunxue chairman of Shanghai Respiratory Research Institute. Bai said people must take common symptoms, like persistent coughing and excessive mucous, more seriously.

"People affected by COPD, especially chain smokers, think that coughing a lot and much sputum is not a big deal and that it is just a normal thing for smokers," Bai said. "They won't come to hospitals to check their lungs unless the disease is so serious that it affects their life.