By Li Yuanyuan and Guo Chen
Beijing, July 11 (ChinaMil) -- The third PLA medical expert team to Sierra Leone, with members with the Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital (PLAGH) and the School of Military Medical Sciences under the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, returned to China on the evening of July 8, after successfully completing the one-year aid mission.
Since arriving Sierra Leone in June 2018, overcoming unfavorable factors such as tough natural conditions, the expert team built the center for tropical infectious disease control and prevention aided by the PLA into the most modernized infectious diagnosis and treatment center with best equipment and medical environment for the Sierra Leone military, and the country's first healthcare institution to fully apply information-based medical care management process.
According to Xu Zhe, head of the expert team, over the past year, the team diagnosed and treated more than 1,000 patients, admitted more than 280 to the hospital, provided emergency medical assistance to more than 50 severely sick persons and helped the Sierra Leone military to successively build 6 new infectious disease monitoring sentinel points, which have effectively enhanced the Sierra Leone military’s capabilities to monitor, prevent and control infectious diseases.
Xu said that the expert team also actively participated in medical and healthcare exchange activities, carried out activities such as Ebola prevention and control technology training, severe infectious disease treatment drill, engaged in health publicity and education, and promoted the development of healthcare services in Sierra Leone.
Before returning, the expert team was awarded the China-Sierra Leone Public Health Cooperation Medal by the government of Sierra Leone, which symbolizes solidarity and friendship between the two countries.