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Medical practitioners are reminded to be on the alert for cases of chikungunya fever and enterovirus 71 (EV 71) infection and that, starting from March 6, they are required by law to notify the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) of these conditions.
A DH spokesman said the Director of Health had ordered that the diseases be included on the list of statutory notifiable infectious diseases, bringing to 47 the total number of infectious diseases on the list in the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599).
The order will be gazetted on Friday (March 6), he said.
"Given the recent major outbreaks of chikungunya fever in neighbouring areas, as well as the apparent increase of EV 71 infections in Hong Kong in 2008 and its potentially serious complications, we consider that there is a pressing need to strengthen the surveillance of these two diseases in the community to ensure prompt implementation of effective public health preventive and control measures," the spokesman said.
The CHP has sent letters to all medical practitioners to inform them of the legislative amendment and reporting criteria.
Forms of notification are available at Central Notification Office (CENO) On-line, the web-based reporting system of the CHP (http://www.chp.gov.hk/ceno).
Doctors may also download the form and report by fax at 2477 2770. Enquiries about reporting can be made to CENO at 2477 2772.
Ends/Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:31
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