13 Nov 2009
Key officials and experts from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have agreed to step up cooperation and exchanges, and to refine the notification system, to tackle the spread of infectious diseases among the three places.
Consensus in this regard was reached at the two-day meeting, the Ninth Tripartite Meeting of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases, which ended in Zhuhai today (November 13).
Members discussed in detail contingency plans for public health emergencies such as outbreaks of Influenza A (H1N1) (human swine influenza (HIS)) and other major infectious diseases.
Members signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on HSI prevention and finalised the membership list of an expert team on prevention and treatment of HSI which comprised experts from the three places in the fields of clinical, epidemiology and laboratory tests. The new team constituted a cooperation mechanism for prevention and control of HSI.
The following points were agreed:
(1) to continue strengthening the response system to for public health incidents and major infectious diseases by implementing the agreement of cooperation on emergency public health incidents in the three places;
(2) to continue stepping up communication and cooperation in the preparedness for influenza pandemic to reduce as far as practicable the health, social and economic impacts in case of an influenza pandemic;
(3) to continue improving the notification mechanism;
(4) to continue cooperation on visits and training of healthcare professionals in surveillance and outbreak investigations, contingency management, clinical epidemiology, laboratory tests and infection control management;
(5) to foster co-operation in scientific researches, including AIDS, influenza and human avian influenza and cooperation on microbial resistance research.
Members agreed that the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would organise the tenth tripartite meeting next year.
They also had in-depth discussions on a number of public health issues of mutual concern including preparedness for HSI, latest developments in respect of infectious diseases, surveillance and control of major communicable diseases, prevention of enterovirus infection, research on microbial resistance and future directions of infectious diseases prevention and treatment.
Participating in the meeting were the Associate Director of the Department of Health of Guangdong Province, Mr Huang Fei; Director of the Health Bureau of Macao, Dr Lei Chin Ion; the Director of Health of Hong Kong, Dr P Y Lam; and more than 60 experts on infectious diseases from the three places.