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The Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, today solicits the views of local experts on avian influenza on further control and preventive measures that need to be implemented so that Hong Kong may continue to remain avian influenza free.
The six experts who joined the meeting were Professor Malik Peiris and Assistant Professor Leo LM Poon of the Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong; Dr Frederick CC Leung, Dean of Faculty of Science, University of Hong Kong; Professor Ma Ching-yung of Department of Botany, University of Hong Kong; Professor John Tam of Department of Microbiology, Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Mr Peter Wong of World's Poultry Science Association Hong Kong Branch.
The experts were unanimously of the view that Hong Kong has remained avian influenza free due to the intense and successful avian influenza surveillance and control programme, quite unrivalled in the region.
This effectively spared Hong Kong from encountering an outbreak of avian influenza in the poultry population (2.5 million in Hong Kong farms) when quite a number of its neighbouring countries and places have already fallen prey to this highly pathogenic virus.
Speaking after the meeting, Dr Yeoh said, "Recent outbreaks in the region signal that avian influenza has become endemic and that it is most likely to return next year and beyond.
"For the sake of protecting public health in Hong Kong, we should try our utmost to reduce the risk of the avian influenza occurring in Hong Kong and to aim at zero infection for our farms and the public as far as possible.
"We learned from our past experience that our defence line is long and vulnerable for possible viral attacks. The constructive comments and suggestions put forth by the experts today are most valuable references to our improving the monitoring system."
The meeting also discussed some broad principles with regard to the risk management of avian influenza, which included:-
* Imposition of more stringent biosecurity measures to ensure that we would be able to achieve and what is more important, to maintain zero transmission of H5 virus in the farms;
* Reducing as much as possible the contact between the public and live poultry in vulnerable spots such as wholesale and retail markets and other retail outlets;
* Resumption of chilled and frozen poultry meat from approved Mainland farms given that the risk of human infection from contaminated meat would be relatively lower when compared to live poultry, subject to further refinement of import regulatory controls and the prevailing outbreak situation in the Mainland; and
* Importation of fertilized eggs and development of local hatcheries to tie over the period during which there would be no importation of day-old chicken.
The experts agreed that the aforementioned principles were set in the right direction. The meeting was aware that these principles, when put in action, would have an impact on the local poultry trade, as well as the public at large.
In response, Dr Yeoh reassured that the Administration would take into account local circumstances and specific issues of concern when developing the various implementation programmes.
"We will sure consult the trade and the public once we have worked out the details." he said.
The Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation and the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene were also present.
Ends/Saturday, February 21, 2004
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