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Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (May 14):
Question :
On the 10th of last month, the Chief Executive indicated that he was prepared to invite overseas medical experts to come to Hong Kong to assist in combating the disease of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council of:
(a) the respective names and qualifications of the overseas experts, apart from those from the World Health Organization, who have been invited to visit Hong Kong, the countries they come from and the organizations they belong to, as well as the dates on which such invitations were issued;
(b) the assistance and advice provided to the authorities by these experts; and
(c) a breakdown of the expenditure involved?
Reply :
(a), (b) & (c) On April 26, 2003, the Hospital Authority extended an invitation to two Chinese medicine experts, Professor Lin Lin and Professor Yang Zhi-min from the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, to visit Hong Kong to exchange views with local clinicians on the management of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("SARS"). The two experts have significant experience and expertise in treating SARS patients using an integrated Chinese and Western medicine approach. They arrived Hong Kong on May 3. The total expenditure over three months is estimated to be within $500,000, comprising consultancy fees, drug costs and miscellaneous expenses related to research and clinical activities.
Apart from the two Chinese medicine experts, we have also invited Dr. Meirion Evans of Department of Epidemiology, Statistics and Public Health of University of Wales College of Medicine, United Kingdom, who is also the Honorary Regional Epidemiologist of Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Wales) to advise on the current control measures. He was also a member of the World Health Organization Expert Team which performed an assessment of the SARS situation in the Guangdong Province in April. We have provided him with accommodation and transportation during his stay in Hong Kong on May 1 to 4, 2003 and the total expenses, including honorarium, amounted to $42,000.
Moreover, world-class medical experts invited by the University of Hong Kong also provided advice on the research and public health front. These experts, all from the United States of America (USA), include Dr. David Ho, Professor and Director of Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center; Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, Vice President for Academic Health Affairs of Emory University, and formerly Director of the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention of USA; and Dr. Robert G. Webster of Department of Infectious Diseases of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Apart from advising the University on medical issues, they were invited to briefing sessions organised by the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and the Department of Health, where they had given their expert advice on treatment of disease and infection control measures. No additional expenditure was incurred by the Government in relation to these activities.
End/Wednesday, May 14, 2003
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