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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 3):
Question:
Regarding the arrangements for operators of cross-boundary public transport by sea, land and air to report to the authorities concerned suspected cases of infectious diseases (e.g. the human swine influenza which has broken out recently) found on their vehicles, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) under what circumstances the various operators are required to report such cases on their own initiative;
(b) which types of infectious diseases are required to be reported, what criteria the authorities use in compiling the relevant list of infectious diseases, the existing mechanism for reviewing and revising the list; and whether the authorities have comprehensively reviewed the mechanism in response to the recent human swine influenza epidemic;
(c) which units under the Department of Health are responsible for following up the cases reported by the operators, and how these units coordinate other government departments and relevant organisations (e.g. the Airport Authority and the Hospital Authority) to adopt measures to prevent the spread of an epidemic;
(d) whether the operators' failure to report such cases on their own initiative constitutes a breach of the relevant international conventions; if it does not, how the authorities ensure that the operators will do so or encourage them to do so; and
(e) whether it has made suggestions to the operators on the ways to keep the personal particulars of their passengers and the period for keeping such information, in order to trace the transmission routes of infectious diseases?
Reply:
President,
(a) According to section 6 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap 599A), if the operator of a cross-boundary conveyance has reason to suspect that there exists on the cross-boundary conveyance a case or source of a specified infectious disease, he or she shall notify a health officer immediately.
(b) Infectious diseases notifiable under section 6 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap 599A) include infectious diseases specified in Schedule 1 and those caused by the infectious agents specified in Schedule 2 to the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap 599). Please refer to Annex for details.
The Administration needs to consider a number of factors in determining whether a particular infectious disease should become statutorily notifiable. These factors include the prevalence and severity of the disease or condition, outbreak potential of the disease, existence of reliable diagnostic method, availability of effective personal or public health intervention and other better surveillance methods, World Health Organisation or international surveillance and reporting requirements, and the possibility that the disease would be used as a biological weapon, etc.
In order to provide maximal protection to the local community against infectious diseases, the Director of Health regularly reviews the list of notifiable infectious diseases to ensure that it reflects the latest epidemiology and the changing circumstances of epidemic. This will strengthen disease surveillance and enable the implementation of effective public health preventive and control measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in Hong Kong.
(c) Upon receipt of notification of suspected cases of an infectious disease by operators of cross-boundary conveyances, the Department of Health (DH) will coordinate the efforts of other Government departments and relevant organisations, including airline companies, the Airport Authority and the Hospital Authority to take immediate follow-up actions on the cases, with a view to controlling and preventing the spread of diseases. The Port Health Office (PHO) under the DH has established "Health Posts" at all air, sea and land control points to provide preliminary health screening and assessment for inbound travellers suspected to have been infected with an infectious disease. The PHO will send travellers found to have obvious symptoms of an infectious disease for further diagnosis in public hospitals, and arrange those who have been infected to receive treatment in isolation ward where necessary. On the other hand, upon confirmation of an infected case on aircraft, airline companies will provide information on other passengers who have been in close contact with the infected passenger to the DH for follow-up.
(d) As mentioned in part (a) of this reply, section 6 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap 599A) provides that operators of cross-boundary conveyances are required to notify a health officer of any suspected case of a specified infectious disease. Contravention of this provision is an offence and is liable to a fine at level 3 (currently HK$10,000) and to imprisonment for 6 months on conviction.
If flight attendants suspect that a passenger on board has been infected with an infectious disease, they can seek assistance from the PHO and refer the suspected case to the PHO for further assessment and action. The DH will continue to maintain communication with operators of cross-boundary conveyances, and to facilitate their compliance with the relevant statutory requirements through organising working conferences, briefings and drills for the operators and issuing to them various guidelines.
(e) At present, some of the operators of cross-boundary conveyances such as airline companies have already put in place a mechanism to keep the personal particulars of individual passengers. Besides, the newly revised health declaration form already in distribution also requires cross-boundary travellers to provide the number of the vehicle, ship or flight they took, together with other information such as the seat number. This is to ensure that in the event that a confirmed case of an infectious disease is found on any conveyance, swift tracing of passengers who have been in close contact with the infected person could be carried out.
Ends/Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:17
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