Wu Zunyou, a well-known public health expert and chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, unfortunately passed away due to illness on October 17, 2023 at the age of 60. Several colleagues and close friends of Wu Zunyou confirmed the news to the Economic Observer Network reporter.
Public information shows that Wu Zunyou was born in Huangshan, Anhui in June 1963. In 1980, he took the college entrance examination and was admitted to the Department of Health of Anhui Medical University, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1988, after graduating, Wu Zunyou entered the Anhui Provincial Epidemic Prevention Station to work.
From 1991 to 1992, Wu Zunyou studied at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in public health, and received a master's degree. From 1992 to 1995, he studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in epidemiology, and received a doctorate.
After graduating with his doctorate, Wu Zunyou returned to China and began working on AIDS prevention and treatment. In 2003, he also participated in the prevention and control of SARS.
In 2005, Wu Zunyou was appointed director of the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of STDs and AIDS. In April 2017, he served as chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the beginning of 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, Wu Zunyou participated in the frontline work of China's COVID-19 prevention and control and became familiar to the public.
In January 2023, Wu Zunyou was elected as a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.