*********************************************
Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session after attending the opening ceremony of the Hospital Authority Convention 2008 today (May 5):
Reporter: (EV71)
Secretary for Food and Health: We are very concerned about the increase in EV71 virus infection. Although in Hong Kong right now, we only have 10 identifiable cases, we can see that from Mainland and also neighbouring territories like Singapore and Taiwan, there are a few thousand of cases in each of these places. Every year, from May to July, it is usually the peak season. This is early May right now, we are very concerned whether the incidence will also increase in Hong Kong in the coming months. The Centre for Health Protection will work together with the Hospital Authority so that we can announce any new cases that are in Hong Kong identifiable by our paediatricians in the Hospital Authority. So far, the situation is not serious but we can foresee that the incidence might climb up in the weeks ahead. So, our advice to the public is to ensure children, in particular those below the age of six be more concerned about their hygiene, have regular hand washing, make sure that they have that before and after eating, and also when they go out to play and come back. These are important aspects of control of infection. It is very simple but usually not attended to properly by the family members and also the workers of the kindergartens and institutions.
Reporter: (situation)
Secretary for Food and Health: The situation is well-known to the citizens, particularly with the wide broadcast by the media. What we need to do is tell the public about the Hong Kong situation on a regular basis. The virus is easily detectable by our laboratory in the Hong Kong hospitals. As soon as we know there is a new case, we inform the public. We will be monitoring whether there will be outbreaks and also clusters of outbreaks particularly. The work is important. The Centre for Health Protection has identified a kindergarten that had more than a few cases and advised the kindergarten to close down so that the children can actually rest at home and be isolated from other children. We will adopt the same policy in the future.
Reporter: (inaudible)
Secretary for Food and Health: At the moment, there is no evidence that it is more virulent than the past years. The incidence is higher. When the incidence is higher, of course the number of the mortality will also increase. I think it is important that we should try to ensure that our public knows what is happening and try to avoid going to places that might have a high incidence.
Reporter: (SARS Trust Fund)
Secretary for Food and Health: I will look into the matter because that is handled by the special committee that is offering assistance to the SARS victims.
(Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, May 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:41
NNNN
