Introduction
The "National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control” of Hainan Medical University, is jointly established by the National Health Commission and the Province Government of Hainan. The key laboratory was officially founded since December 21, 2020 approved by the National Health Commission (National Health Science and Education Letter [2020] 484), and was currently in the construction period.
The key laboratory gives full play to the historical advantages of the discipline and the geographic regional advantage of Hainan, for ensuring national biosafety and national health, which carries out the prevention and control of important tropical diseases and relevant frontier research. It will be of distinctive tropical characteristic, to service the local and radiate the surrounding areas including the "One Belt One Road" countries, as a tropical disease research and prevention base with international level, and also for talents training.
Hainan is the only tropical island province with a tropical monsoon oceanic climate in China. It has a wide range of vector species with large populations. However, the sanitary and epidemic prevention conditions of Hainan are relatively insufficient. Additionally, the distribution of tropical diseases and the spectrum of pathogens carried by vectors in some areas remains unclear. Terrible Dengue Fever had been an outbreak in the past in Hainan. Besides, Hainan takes the potential risk of major tropical diseases re-currency. Furthermore, tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, tuberculosis, and infectious diarrhea have been severely affected the neighboring countries. In addition to the local tropical diseases, with the implementation of the Hainan Free Trade Zone/Port, the “One Belt, One Road”, and the South China Sea strategies, the risk of some new as well as imported tropical diseases will increase significantly. The outbreak of the major tropical diseases is possible to affect the regional economic development and political stability directly. The comprehensive prevention and control of tropical diseases are crucial to the development of Hainan.
The key laboratory-supported unit "Hainan Medical University", is the only provincial public higher medical school in Hainan Province as well as the only higher medical educational institution located in the tropical region of China. The major development goal of "Hainan Medical University" is built as a high-level medical university with distinctive tropical medicine characteristics. The main body of the key laboratory is located on the 10th floor of the Training Building of Hainan Medical University (NO.3 of Xueyuan Road, Haikou, Hainan, P. R. China) with a construction area of over 1,000 square meters and the experimental equipment for a total value of more than 20 million yuan.
The key laboratory is founded based on the Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Medicine of Hainan Medical University that officially operated in December 2007, also integrates the existing research facilities and personnel of the Tropical Infection Joint Laboratory of Hainan Medical University-Hong Kong University, the Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Medicinal Plant Research and Development, and the BSL-2 biosafety laboratory of Hainan Medical University. It involves the participations of three affiliated hospitals of Hainan Medical University, the Hainan Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, the Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other relevant institutions. The main research scopes of the key laboratory covering the basic, clinical prevention and control of the related tropical diseases. The key laboratory tries to form a collaborative innovation strategic alliance for tropical disease research among universities, hospitals and disease control institutions. To carry out the following research directions: 1. Basic research on the etiology of tropical diseases; 2. Development of early diagnosis and prevention and control technologies for tropical infectious diseases; 3. Discovery of therapeutic drugs for tropical infectious diseases and the innovative practice of technologies; 4. Exploration of the health effects of the tropical environment of Hainan on chronic respiratory diseases as well as the basic construction operation mode. It will make full use of rich and unique tropical disease resources of Hainan with the help of continuously improving technology and equipment hardware resources and strive to achieve breakthrough scientific research results in basic research on tropical disease pathogens, the pathogen detection, the new drugs and technical applications for tropical disease prevention and treatment.
The laboratory will construct a batch of platforms for important medical and scientific research testing technology. To build a high-level research team with innovative capabilities and to form advantageous disciplines with tropical characteristics. To undertake major medical and scientific research tasks in the national and Hainan related fields and serve the national South China Sea strategy. To improve the prevention and treatment of tropical diseases,and to produce high-level scientific research results. To realize the organic combination of medicine, education and research, and train high-level tropical disease prevention and control talents. The key laboratory will service for our government, to formulate tropical disease prevention and control strategies, to provide scientific basis, suggestions and technical supports for the early warning mechanisms and emergency plans as well as the national defense construction.
