Opening of the Korea-Japan-China Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Forum and Joint Symposium

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 4th that it will hold the 17th Korea-Japan-China Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Forum and the Korea-Japan-China Joint Symposium over three days from the 4th to the 6th.

The Korea-Japan-China Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Forum is a platform where infectious disease control agencies from the three Northeast Asian countries seek close cooperation systems to prepare for infectious disease outbreaks. The Korea-Japan-China Joint Symposium is an event involving health officials from the three countries, as well as participants from third countries, multiple government departments, and related academic fields.

At the Korea-Japan-China Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Forum, health officials from the three countries will attend to present and discuss the theme of "Pandemic Preparedness, Response, and Antimicrobial Resistance Management." At the Korea-Japan-China Joint Symposium, presentations and discussions will be held on topics such as tick-borne and vector-borne infectious disease prevention and control, One Health-based surveillance systems, the status and surveillance of respiratory infectious diseases post-COVID-19, measles elimination, tuberculosis, and other country-specific areas of interest.

During the event, KDCA Commissioner Ji Young-mi will hold a bilateral meeting with Takaji Wakita, Director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, to discuss workforce development for future pandemic preparedness, vaccination status and adverse reactions, syphilis status and management systems, among other topics. Additionally, she will renew and sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hongbing Shen, Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, whose current MOU is set to expire in 2024.

Commissioner Ji Young-mi stated, “Through the 17th Korea-Japan-China Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Forum and the Korea-Japan-China Joint Symposium, we hope to strengthen the close cooperation system among the infectious disease control agencies of the three countries and take a step closer to enhancing global health security beyond Korea, Japan, China, and the Asian region.”