YU JIANZHONG HAS a job not many would envy. When the news of an outbreak of Sars, bird flu, cholera or any other communicable disease comes in, he is at the receiving end. As head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Mr Yu admits his job is quite a hair-raising experience. His work involves assessing, containing and attempting to eradicate all diseases known to humankind. In doing this, he is constantly exposed to potentially lethal diseases. 'I am required to show up in epidemic situations such as Sars or cholera and have close contact with the patients. I think this is the scariest thing about my job,' he said. More than any other health worker in the country, he is at risk of coming down with a virus or disease about which little may be known and that may have no known cure. Unlike a policeman armed with a gun or a fireman with a hose, Mr Yu goes to work with a different set of tools. 'There are three phases of preparation for my work. The knowledge of the disease is a prerequisite for handling any disease because making a correct judgment is the most important thing. Then I need to be well prepared with sanitation and disinfecting equipment, such as antiseptic masks and full-body protective suits. For mental preparation, I just try to relax because I believe it's quite safe as long as I follow the correct procedures.' These tools helped when Sars broke out. It was in mid-March 2003 that the previously unknown coronavirus began infecting people in China. The silent killer was named severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and proved to be a major new threat to public health. The outbreak of the disease put fear into the hearts and minds of people around the world. 'During Sars, China CDC had a whole set of working procedures. First, 24-hour surveillance was carried out in hospitals, communities and transport stations. Secondly, we put the suspected patients in quarantine and [under] medical observation. Then we had to clean and disinfect the places where patients or suspected patients had stayed to prevent the spreading of the disease.' Mr Yu's team had to respond quickly to any such case reported to the centre. 'I arranged the daily work of the centre and made sure the staff were doing what they should do and sometimes I went to the spot of suspected cases with them,' he said. His primary purpose was to stop the virulent disease from spreading. The virus was spread by person-to-person contact and through respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezed or coughed, which made the job of controlling it harder. For Mr Yu, the most alarming thing about this insidious disease was not so much the danger it carried, but the fear it aroused. 'Sars is a new kind of communicable disease with which even professionals were not familiar in the beginning. So people panicked easily,' he said. 'Actually, I don't think the disease is that scary but when people panic, things become tougher to handle.' The disease was contained within four months. During this time, Mr Yu developed a healthy respect for good, old-fashioned hygiene. 'Hygiene is a very important factor to protect people from diseases and infections,' he said. 'Just a few changes in people's hygiene behaviour, [and] their health condition might be improved greatly.' With the outbreak of diseases such as Sars and bird flu, people have begun to raise their standards of health, hygiene and living in their fight against new viruses. Seeing this change in attitude has been a rewarding and motivating factor for Mr Yu. 'This makes me feel that my work is meaningful and [it] keeps me working hard,' he said. Mr Yu has been working with China CDC for 30 years. His parents were doctors and his father headed the China CDC in Sichuan province. His wife works in the public health centre in Jinniu District in Chengdu. 'Though [my wife] doesn't have close contact with dangerous diseases, she fully understands my work and is very supportive. She usually gives me some suggestions [about] how to do things better,' he said. Mr Yu said his daughter had also adapted to the situation. 'The only thing she's not satisfied [with] is probably that we always talk about work at home,' he said. Work at the centre involves dealing with communicable and chronic diseases such as cholera, Sars, bird flu, Aids and viral hepatitis, and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and rheumatism. 'For an infectious disease we need to go as soon as possible to the place where it breaks out,' Mr Yu said. 'We do the investigation there and see if the patients need to be quarantined or sent to the hospital. Then we clean and disinfect the place. 'For chronic diseases, we give health education to people, telling them about a healthy lifestyle. 'Most people were quite respectful to [China CDC workers], especially during Sars, because our staff were working day and night to ensure their safety. But some of the suspected patients were not very co-operative when they were required to be quarantined,' he said. On a more personal level, Mr Yu has found working with Aids patients particularly heartbreaking. 'As the prevention of Aids has been a priority at the China CDC, I have got to know some Aids sufferers recently - mostly drug users. Their living conditions are extremely poor because all their money went on drugs, and Aids made the problem worse.' Mr Yu said other people avoided them, but he felt more effort was needed to not only try and prevent the disease, but also to help members of the society develop a better attitude towards this disadvantaged group. With today's technology, the fight against diseases is becoming easier. Monitoring devices are more advanced, giving centres such as the China CDC more accurate information. 'This is crucial in handling different diseases,' Mr Yu said. 'The case report system is processed on the internet, so we have better communication with communities or higher authorities and can make a rapid response to any epidemic situation.' The major threat now is bird flu. Transmitted among birds and also a threat to people, the virus has not yet mutated to spread from human to human. But the WHO warns this is inevitable. 'People must be very careful not to get close to sick birds,' Mr Yu said. 'And do not buy chicken from an unknown origin.' He said a basic understanding of the disease could prevent people from panicking. 'The most important thing is we should keep a healthy body and improve our immunity from disease. People will be safe from bird flu threats this way.' Working on the front line of severe epidemics means risking his life to save others, but Mr Yu would not have it any other way. 'I chose this job at the very beginning and I do enjoy working in this field,' he said when asked whether he would ever choose to do another kind of work. Top five infectious diseases Cholera (class A) Smallpox (class A) Sars (class B) Aids (class B) Bird flu (class B) Source: PRC Law on the Prevention and Cure of Infectious Diseases