Chinese experts share experience on coronavirus with European counterparts

Chinese experts and officials on Thursday shared their experiences on fighting the novel coronavirus and their latest pathological findings with their European counterparts in a video conference.

"China has accumulated rich and valuable experience in the prevention and control of this epidemic, which can help Europe avoid detours," Jean-Pierre Armand, an oncologist at the Gustave Roussi Oncology Institute in France, told Xinhua after attending the conference.

In Europe, now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, infections have been reported in more than 40 countries, with cases surpassing 100,000 as of Thursday, prompting European governments to unleash more anti-viral measures.

The French oncologist noticed that Chinese doctors in their fight against the virus tried a variety of clinical treatment methods, including the use of antimalarial and other drugs, as well as traditional Chinese medicine.

Information on the dosage and effects of the drugs trialed have proved very helpful for doctors in Europe, he said.

In his country, deaths from the coronavirus jumped to 372 on Thursday, up 108 in 24 hours, with confirmed infections totalling 10,995. "The number of cases double each four days," according to the French Health Ministry.

About 50 percent of recently detected coronavirus cases in Europe are in patients aged under 60 years of age, said Armand. For him, there is a particularly urgent need to learn the treatment experience of younger patients in China.

Liya Ju, chief executive officer of Paris-based Europe PreciMed Platform, said that China's experiences have proved that large-scale testing and screening, as well as effective isolation and treatment, are good ways to curb the epidemic.

"When Europe was hit by the flu more than 100 years ago, doctors had to fight alone in their own country. Nowadays, European and Chinese experts can share experience thousands of miles apart, which in itself is a strong support for an early victory over the epidemic," she said.

Officials and experts from some 10 European countries including Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, Portugal and Albania also attended the conference.