BEIJING:- Chinese health authorities has pledged to use big data and other Internet technologies to intensify the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, China Daily reported Thursday. Big data technology is being used to promote research on the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, with a national computerized system to register diagnosis and treatment information on them, said Jiao Yahui, deputy chief of medical administration and supervision at the National Health Commission.–Xinhua

Noting that many rare diseases are inherited, she said actions will also be taken to improve pre-pregnancy and pre-birth checkups, as well as disease screening for pregnant women to reduce the occurrence of rare diseases in newborns.

China has more than 20 million people with rare diseases, the newspaper cited Zhang Shuyang, vice president of the China Alliance of Rare Diseases, as saying.