The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Meituan Sign Agreement on Infectious Disease Surveillance and Early Warning

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) has recently signed a cooperation agreement on infectious disease surveillance and early warning with Beijing Sankuai Online Technology Co., Ltd. (Meituan). This initiative serves as an important step toward implementing the Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Improving a Smart Multi-Trigger Infectious Disease Surveillance and Early Warning System, jointly issued by the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention and eight other government departments. It aims to improve the integration of social sensing into epidemic monitoring efforts. 

Monitoring and issuing early warnings based on publicly available information, including data from the internet, on infectious disease outbreaks is a key component of the multi-channel surveillance and early warning system. This approach enables timely insights into public concern regarding symptoms of infectious diseases, as well as behaviors related to seeking medical attention and purchasing medication. Under the agreement, Meituan will regularly provide China CDC with the “Meituan Medicine Health Index,” which is derived from user data on the Meituan platform, including searches, online consultations, and purchases of diagnostic kits, antibacterial drugs, and antiviral drugs. This index is intended to support the detection of potential outbreaks and to assist in early warning and trend forecasting.