******************************************

Following is a speech by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E K Yeoh,at the 2nd Hong Kong Allergy Convention Opening Ceremony today (January 13):

Dr Wei, Dr Bahna, Dr the Honourable Lo,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to be among you here at the Opening Ceremony of the Hong Kong Allergy Convention.

First of all, I would like to congratulate the Convention organizers, the Hong Kong Institute of Allergy and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, for organizing this important meeting. Their efforts have enabled international renowned experts to gather here at this two-day Convention to compare and share knowledge and experience in tackling the wide range of issues arising from allergy.

Allergy is an abnormal reaction or hypersensitivity to certain substances or "allergens", which can enter a person's body and stimulate the person's immune system through eating, inhaling or injection.

Allergy is one of the commonest causes of rhinitis, skin lesions and asthma. While these conditions do not contribute to significant mortality in Hong Kong, they do give rise to much morbidity in the community, affecting the young, adults and elders alike. Take the teenagers as an example, a study reveals that 11% of the local 13-14 year old school children are affected by asthma, 52 % by rhinitis and 15% by eczema. Also, asthma alone, is affecting 4.5% of our population, which accounts for around 300 000 persons.

Allergy sufferers would constantly be affected by symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, or wheezing. These would surely have a bearing on their living or working conditions and also on their quality of life. Many of the sufferers may become so accustomed to the chronic symptoms that they do not consider their symptoms as unusual. Given the widespread impact, allergic diseases have been causing a great deal of suffering, ill-health and disability of the community; and is an important factor to our quality of life.

In this era of rapid technological advancement, humans are exposed to a variety of new chemicals and materials contained in the food we consume and in the environment. Our chances of contacting agents that may elicit allergic response in our body increases. This has posed new challenges to the healthcare professionals who must work harder to explore new means of fighting allergy.

I am sure that discussions in the lectures and symposiums today and tomorrow will update us on the latest technologies and professional knowledge, which will in turn benefit the health of our patients and the community at large.

I wish you all a most successful symposium. Thank you.

End/Saturday, January 13, 2001 NNNN