HP says it has donated 500 HP iPAQ Travel Companions with GPS technology, valued at approximately USD300,000, to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for public health efforts in earthquake-affected Sichuan.

"HP and its employees have a long history of helping those in need," stated Isaiah Cheung, vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group, HP China and Hong Kong. "The public health surveillance system, supported by HP iPAQ Travel Companions with GPS navigation technology, will go a long way toward preventing Sichuan earthquake survivors from suffering additional pain due to disease."

The donation increases the total HP contribution to Sichuan earthquake relief and recovery initiatives to more than USD3 million. The new effort uses a survey platform called Field Adapted Survey Toolkit for Geographic Information System-enabled data collection that is based on personal digital assistants like the HP iPAQ and global positioning system technology. Supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FAST GIS will enable China CDC health workers to track and prevent the spread of infectious diseases among earthquake survivors, and to assess injuries and disabilities in order to rebuild the public health system in a manner that best serves the population.

According to China's Ministry of Public Health, the control and prevention of infectious disease is of utmost importance during the first three months after an earthquake. China CDC will use the HP iPAQ devices to conduct health surveys of earthquake survivors in clinics and shelters, and then send the gathered information to the China CDC's information center. There, public health workers will analyze the collected data and assess the epidemic risk to make the time-sensitive intervening actions necessary to effectively prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

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