China International Travel Health Conference + Expo 2009

Delivering the knowledge for Travel Health & Medicine

In today's highly interconnected world people are traveling more frequently than ever. Such massive scale of travelers ultimately raises health issues for travel health authorities and medical practitioners worldwide which the upcoming China International Travel Health Conference + Expo (CITH) intends to address. This important meeting is a must attend for specialists in travel health and medicine. It will also be of interest to executives in the tourism trade, company physicians and other stakeholders. Come join in the discussions about the latest developments with other experts. Discover new knowledge from an information packed agenda covering a wide range of issues and interesting topics. Make your plans today to attend CITH 2009 and the special Forum on Travel Health and Pandemic Influenza.

Welcome Message from the Host & Organizer

Over the years, the People's Republic of China has gradually risen onto the world stage and is now an integral part of the global economic, political, social as well as cultural fabric. China has also become a more open and socially responsible country and wants to play a constructive role in maintaining world peace, stability and health.

One important and emerging area of health that China has attached great importance to is travel health. With the growing number of travelers, expats and migrant workers, many countries including China, need to be better prepared in detecting, preventing and responding to disease outbreaks, epidemics, infections and other cross border health risks.

As a responsible partner in the global community, China is honored to host the China International Travel Health Conference + Expo 2009. This dynamic and important meeting will cover all facets of travel health and medicine that are of common concern for anyone with a role or interest in travel health and medicine.

CITH is set to become the major venue for presentation of advances in travel medicine. You will hear keynotes, presentations and other activities and can take part in dialogues, debates and deliberations. CITH 2009 promises a productive and meaningful experience for all participants and cordially invites you to attend.

The setting of CITH is in Shanghai, China’s largest and fastest growing city. With a history of more than 700 years, Shanghai is now working towards building itself into a modern metropolis and a world economic, financial, trading and shipping center by 2020. In 2010 Shanghai will be hosting the WORLD EXPO with an expected attendance of 70 million visitors.

I look forward to meeting you in Shanghai.

Sincerely,

Dr LIU Zhiyong
CITH Conference Chairman
Secretary General
China International Travel Healthcare Association

About China International Travel Healthcare Association

The China International Travel Healthcare Association (CITHA) was officially approved in 1994 by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China. The mission of the Association is to bring together specialists, scholars, professionals and others interested in travel healthcare in order to improve the health care of Chinese persons traveling overseas and of foreigners visiting China.

CITHA has assisted in setting up local international travel healthcare associations in over 30 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and ports throughout the country. CITHA-designated travel clinics have opened in more than 100 cities and ports. These offer full travel medicine services in a planned and organized way, including physical examination, consultation, health education, disease prevention, vaccinations, and health insurance, for example. CITHA is also involved in strengthening the professional management of frontier (border) health, and supervising and inspection of imported food.

CITHA has organized nationwide and regional academic activities in travelers' health. For example, since 1995, there have been 8 CITHA-sponsored conferences held in Shanghai (1995), Urumqi (1996), Guangzhou (1997), Xiamen (1998), Hohhot (2000), Shanghai (2002) and Chengdu (2004 and 2006). Also, many CITHA members have attended conferences sponsored by the International Society of Travel Medicine, Asia-Pacific Travel Health Conference, and European Travel Medicine Conference. CITHA has been involved in travel medicine workshops and conferences in Taiwan, Russia, and Mongolia.

CITHA has organized nationwide travel medicine-related training in psychology consultation, research methods, writing papers, medical assistance and diagnosis. And seminars have been organized in altitude medicine, the environment of travel destinations, infectious diseases, vaccinations, and port health control, for example. And every year CITHA selects Chinese international travel healthcare workers to study at the travel medicine clinic of the University of Washington in Seattle America.

Under the leadership of the Department of Health Supervision (AQSIQ), CITHA has worked with more than 100 members of local Chinese international travel healthcare centers to set up a web site, http://www.itha.org.cn. This site provides complete and rapid information services to travelers about entry-exit regulations, physical examinations, immunizations, and travel health consultations.

The data on the websites are targeted to travelers' needs. The network enables users to share public and personalized information at each local center. A visitor can get information about epidemic situations, physical examination and immunization, for example, from any of the websites and can easily get the service information offered by any clinic.

There are more and more foreign travelers coming to China. Tourism is booming here. In 2008, travelers from all over the world attended the Olympic Games and in 2010 more than 70 million domestic and international visitors are expected to attend the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai city. As the only international travel healthcare society in China, CITHA is obligated to disseminate information to provide travelers the knowledge of infectious diseases and other travel health risks. Disease prevention brochures and posters will be printed and there will be notices on our websites to educate travelers.

Dr. Liu, the Association Secretary General and the Chairman for the China International Travel Health Conference + Expo 2009 is the Director of the Department of International Liaison, China International Healthcare Association, Counselor on the executive board of the Asia Pacific Travel Health Association and Science Editor of Travel Medicine (China).