Director of Health visits Guangdong (with photos)
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     The Director of Health of Hong Kong, Dr Constance Chan, today (May 6) visited Guangdong to meet with officials of the Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (GDCIQ) and the Department of Health of Guangdong Province to share experience of preventive and control measures for infectious diseases in view of the recent situation of human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9).

     Dr Chan visited the GDCIQ this morning and met with the Bureau's Director General, Ms Li Yanhui and the Deputy Director General, Mr Chen Xiaofan. Both parties exchanged views on the preventive and control measures for infectious diseases since the last meeting held in Shenzhen in mid-April. At the meeting, representatives of both sides reviewed the deployment of additional manpower to enhance health checks at boundary control points (BCPs) during the Labour Day holidays, enhanced temperature screening for travellers, health assessment activities for suspected infectious disease cases, as well as strengthening health education for travellers and the travel sector to increase their awareness of preventive and control measures for infectious diseases.

     Dr Chan expressed her gratitude to Guangdong authorities for their concern over the preventive and control measures at BCPs and their unfailing support for Hong Kong in the area of public health.

     In the afternoon, Dr Chan visited the Department of Health of Guangdong Province to call on the newly appointed Director-General of the Department of Health of Guangdong Province, Mr Chen Yuansheng, and two Deputy Directors-General, Mr Huang Fei and Mr Liao Xinbo, to further strengthen communication between the two places and enhance preparedness and ability to respond to possible epidemics.

     The Guangdong authorities said at the meeting that they have implemented a series of preventive and control measures, including strengthening the joint measures of various departments in the province, further enhancing the preventive and control measures in the province against human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), strengthening public health education, especially among poultry workers, and further enhancing surveillance measures of human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

     Furthermore, officials from both sides held discussions on the recent report by the Ministry of Agriculture that a specimen from a chicken in a live poultry market in Dongguan, Guangdong, tested positive for avian influenza A(H7N9) in a review test conducted by the Mainland avian influenza reference laboratory. According to the Department of Health of Guangdong Province, no abnormalities were found among the 198 close contacts of the affected poultry so far.

     The Department of Health (DH) has been maintaining close liasion with the Mainland inspection and quarantine authorities as well as health authorities, and sharing experience and exchanging the latest information on infectious diseases. Accompanying Dr Chan to Guangdong today were the Consultant Community Medicine (Communicable Disease) of the Centre for Health Protection of DH, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan and the Chief Port Health Officer of DH, Dr Edwin Tsui.

Ends/Monday, May 6, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:41

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