China's Wu Zunyou, epidemiology expert, has died - media

Chinese epidemiologist Wu Zunyou, a well-known expert in his field, died on Friday of pancreatic cancer, the government-backed National Business Daily reported, citing sources from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wu was chief epidemiologist at the CDC and an adjunct professor of Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Chinese epidemiologist Wu Zunyou, a well-known expert in his field, died on Friday of pancreatic cancer, the government-backed National Business Daily reported, citing sources from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Wu was chief epidemiologist at the CDC and an adjunct professor of Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was also a member of the UNAIDS Evaluation Expert Advisory Committee, according to a profile on China's CDC website.

Wu made significant contributions in the field of infectious diseases control, particularly for HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and the coronavirus disease, the CDC said. His work over the past 30 years in HIV research, health policy, and public health practice in China "has saved countless lives through improvements in both treatment and prevention that extend far outside China's borders", it said.

In China's response to COVID-19, Wu analyzed epidemic data as it was collected in the early days of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan and has since monitored epidemic trends closely, the CDC said. His death became the second most-searched topic on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.