HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

[Giuseppe]

Hong Kong: Public hospitals to heighten vigilance for avian influenza (12/9/2008)

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:


In response to the Government's activation of Serious Response Level in view of avian influenza outbreak in a local poultry farm, the Hospital Authority (HA) has accordingly elevated to Serious Response Level after the urgent meeting of the Central Committee on Infectious Disease & Emergency Response.

The HA spokesman said the Authority, in close collaboration with the Centre for Health Protection, would implement enhanced surveillance on poultry workers and report to CHP for those with influenza-like illness.

All frontline staff would be reminded to stay vigilant for avian influenza.

"The Centre for Health Protection has also implemented medical surveillance for the exposed poultry workers from the farm and six workers were admitted to the HA Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital. Investigations for high risk patients will be conducted."

"Under the current Response Level, hospital visiting hours for acute wards are not more than four hours per day and not more than two visitors at a time, while that for convalescent hospitals are not more than six hours per day and not more than two visitors at a time."

Public are also reminded of the infection control measures under the Serious Response Level, including the hand hygiene; visitors with respiratory symptoms are required to put on surgical masks in hospitals and clinics.

The HA will continue to closely liaise and co-operate with the Centre for Health Protection to keep the general public and professionals posted of the most updated situation and relevant information.
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OR PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: Avian flu found in a Yuen Long farm (12/9/2008)

The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, today (December 9) declared that a local chicken farm at Ha Chuen in Lau Fau Shan, Yuen Long as an infected place, after dead chickens found in the farm were tested positive of avian influenza. An area within three-kilometre radius of the farm had also been declared an infected place.


Concerned departments would cull all the chickens, estimated 80,000 in total number, in the infected area. At the same time, Dr Chow announced that the alert level for avian influenza has been raised to Serious Response Level.

To prevent the spread of virus, an inter-departmental group led by the Secretary for Food and Health had decided to take a series of actions according to the contingency plan for Serious Response Level.

Besides culling all chickens within the infected area, all local farms would stop dispatching chickens to the market for 21 days.

During that period, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) would field staff to inspect all local chicken farms and take samples for testing, to ensure that the virus would not be spreading to other farms.

Meanwhile, import of all live poultry including day-old chicks and pet birds would be suspended for 21 days.

As a precautionary measure, AFCD staff would also cull some 10,000 chickens staying in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Poultry Wholesale Market in view of the fact that chickens from the index farm had been sent to the wholesale market.

For retail markets, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department would request all live poultry retail outlets to be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected to prevent the virus from growing and accumulating in the environment.

As the Hong Kong Wetland Park is located within the three-kilometer radius of the index farm, its outdoor section of the park would need to be closed for 21 days.

The Administration had also contacted the Ocean Park, the World Wild Fund Hong Kong and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department requesting them to step up their biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of avian influenza in their venues and/or parks.

Although the outdoor section of the Wetland Park would be closed for 21 days, the indoor section would continue to open for the public.

The Administration would closely monitor the situation and review the closure period accordingly.

Speaking to the press on the issue, Dr Chow said the Steering Committee on Avian Influenza had been convened today, and the actions and necessary measures were fully supported by members. All Government departments concerned were well prepared and fully aware of their action plan.

He said:
"This incident has reflected the effectiveness of all our hard work in the past years in the prevention of avian influenza, through regular surveillance and the alertness of our farmers, we can detect the virus at an early stage so that we can put in place a series of measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

"In the past, we have been issuing warnings of different levels alerting the trade and members of the public that the threat of avian influence is still with us and we should continue to be on guard to prevent its outbreak.

"To minimize the threat of avian influenza, we introduced the buyout scheme for the live poultry trade in the middle of this year.With concerted effort from all parties concerned, Hong Kong's poultry farms have been spared of an avian influenza outbreak in the past six years. Despite our repeated warnings and our very good preventive measures adopted, this incident shows us that it is no guarantee that we would not have an avian influenza outbreak in our farms. "

Staff of the AFCD received a report of abnormal death of chickens in a Yuen Long farm by its operator yesterday.

Upon arrival at the farm, AFCD staff found 60 dead chickens there.

They took away three dead chickens and 120 chicken faecal samples for testing.

The PCR test results were available this morning, which were tested positive of H5 avian influenza.

The AFCD advised the public: not to bring in live poultry to Hong Kong, avoid contact with live chickens, and wash their hands after making contact with live chickens.

The department also urged the public to fully cook their chicken before eating.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has issued a letter to all doctors in Hong Kong urging them to report any suspected human avian influenza case.

The CHP would join hands with the Hospital Authority to provide health check to live poultry trade operators.

A hotline 2125 1122 has been set up for trade operators and members of the public for enquiries.

To prevent avian influenza, the CHP also urged the public to stay alert and keep good personal and environmental hygiene, and to see a doctor when they have symptoms such as high fever.
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OR PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: SFH on avian influenza (12/9/2008) [SFH]

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the West Wing lobby of Central Government Offices today (December 9):


Secretary for Food and Health:
We have received a report from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) that there was an outbreak of chicken deaths in one chicken farm in Yuen Long yesterday morning. We have discovered that there were up to 60 dead chickens in that farm, and after a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from H5 virus.

''We had a meeting with all the concern departments this afternoon including the AFCD, the Department of Health and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD).

''And with the recommendation of the AFCD, I have elevated the alert state of avian influenza to "serious" starting from now.

''The AFCD has already declared the affected farm as the index farm. And from that we have drawn a three-kilometre radius, so that any chicken in that area will be considered infected.

''The total infected farm would be two, and altogether there were about 80000 chickens. We shall cull those chickens, starting from the index farm, and then the second farm. We had also decided that we shall ban all the outlets of chickens from our farms for 21 days, and also suspend all the import of chicken and poultry including birds for the next 21 days.

''Since there are also chickens stored in Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Market, they will also be culled starting from tomorrow. The AFCD and the FEHD would also clean up those retail outlets and the wholesale market, to ensure that there would not be any more spreading of the virus.

''The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) will contact the owners and the workers of the affected farms, to make sure they are not infected. So far we have not received any information about people being affected. Hong Kong is facing a new alert of avian flu. We should be more cautious particularly with the winter coming and also the appearance of H5 virus in our farm. I hope that all the citizens would be more cautious and ensure they look after themselves well, and also ensure they have a good personal hygiene and environmental hygiene.

Reporter:
How could this happen again?

Secretary for Food and Health:
The last time we have outbreak in a farm is at the end of 2002. With all the measures taken in the last six years, so far we did not have any outbreaks in any farms. This time round we are concerned about whether it would lead to such an outbreak. Now that the deaths were chickens breeders and also the so call sentinel chicken, that is, chicken that had not been vaccinated. We also found more vaccinated chickens being affected. We have to investigate the cause of the outbreak, and the sequence of the outbreak. We have to analyse the whole situation. And obviously we are concerned where the virus come from, as you know that virus exists in our natural environment with all the wild birds. This is something that we always aware of. But whether there is any biosecurity lapse in the farm or whether there is any contamination of any sort inside the farm, that requires more investigations.

Reporter:
(inaudible)

AFCD Assistant Director (Inspection & Quarantine) Dr. Thomas Sit:
We know the viruses existed in the region especially in the winter time. The migrating birds and the wild birds will carry the virus. And during our surveillance in the last few years, you know the viruses present in the wild birds and the dead birds surveillance. That's why we had to investigate whether there will be some contamination from the wild bird species or other means for the virus to get into the farm and make the chicken infected. We will conduct investigation including taking blood samples and faecal samples in the affected farm.

Reporter:
Does that mean the vaccine is useless?

Secretary for Food and Health:
We cannot confirm this yet, but according to the facts received, there are also chickens with vaccination affected. So we have to investigate on both, whether the virus has changed or whether the vaccination has changed the immunity of them.

Reporter:
... or any changes of the...?

Secretary for Food and Health:
We cannot conclude in just a couple of days. Usually, virus sequencing would take actually a few days, or up to two or three weeks before we can be certain. We will be doing more tests on this virus and we are also working with the Hong Kong University on this.

Reporter:
(inaudible)

Secretary for Food and Health:
We have been using the same vaccine during the last, I think six years.

Reporter:

Mainland's Secretary for Food and Health:
I think there is always outbreak of chicken everywhere, every now and then. We have not actually received any information from the Mainland.

Reporter:
So, we won't have any fresh chicken immediately?

Secretary for Food and Health:
21 days, I think it would be from now until after Christmas.

Reporter:
(inaudible)

Secretary for Food and Health:
We cannot conclude with just the information we got so far. We are investigating on various factors. As I mentioned earlier on, there are quite a number of factors that could actually result in such an outbreak.

Reporter:
(inaudible)

Secretary for Food and Health:
I think in May/April. Actually we have declared Hong Kong is in "Serious" state for 21 days, when we have a H5N1 virus in our market. Do you remember that?

Reporter:
...infected chickens?

Secretary for Food and Health:
Since we have tested chickens from this farm last Friday. And after that, that batch of chickens was already gone into the market. And I believe it was all sold by now. Any of the new development after that could be only in a couple of days. So I don't think there is any delay in the reporting of this farm incident.

Reporter:
Financial tsunami...

AFCD Assistant Director (Inspection & Quarantine) Dr. Thomas Sit:
I think we are very unfortunate to start with. And these are not something related. The risk of avian flu is always there in our environment. And I think we have been always very vigilant in monitoring various biosecurity of our own farms and also the imported poultry. So in this case, of course I am concerned whether there is any extra factor that would affect us, and any extra measure that we have to take in the future. Unless we have any new information regarding the virus, and also the effectiveness of the vaccination, otherwise, I think the existing measures are basically of the international standards, and these are measures we need to continue. Apart from the policy and the measures, we have to ensure that people comply with them. We will try to investigate and see whether we can find a more probable cause for this outbreak.

Reporter:
...sufficient vaccine in stock?

Secretary for Food and Health:
As we have always prepared for the arrival of a possible pandemic, we have actually quite a sizeable stock of Tamiflu in the Department of Health and it should be quite sufficient for our protection up to about 20% of our population. So for this particular incident, we don't worry the shortage of Tamiflu. We should have sufficient drugs and medicines to look after anybody who might be exposed to avian flu.

Report:
What about the vaccine?

Secretary for Food and Health:
You mean avian flu vaccine for human? No, I think it is still in a very early experiment stage. (Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript)
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[sharon sanders]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OR PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Corresponding news thread at FT:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87957

[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: SFH on avian influenza (12/10/2008) [SFH]

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the Legislative Council Building today (December 10):


Reporter:
The microbiologist of Hong Kong University says the vaccine used for the chickens of Hong Kong doesn't seem to be effective, and waiting the Government to look at the vaccines used on the Mainland. How do you respond to that?

Secretary for Food and Health:
Regarding investigation of the outbreak, we follow two lines. First of all, we have to see where the source of the virus comes from, so this is the area that we look at the affected farm to see whether they lack biosecurity. The second is whether there is a change of immunity of the chickens in the farm to the virus, whether this change of immunity is due to the vaccination. So these are the two aspects that we will follow on.
Regarding the vaccine, we have been using the same type of vaccine in the last six years. This is a natural trend that the virus would change over the years, even the minor genetic change. They may affect the immunity caused by the vaccination to the chicken. So we will be looking at how this would affect the decision of change of the vaccines. As you know, we have been using the H5N2 vaccines manufactured in the Netherlands. That was one of the most effective vaccines in the period of 2003 when we introduced that. Over the last few years it has been proven to be effective, but we also think that because of the change of the virus, we might have to look for a more appropriate vaccine.
The Mainland has introduced a H5N1 vaccine in the last few years. They have also modified every now and then. So we have explored this option to look at whether we should change to the H5N1 vaccine too. But it is too premature to decide on that. We have to examine the recent virus whether it responds directly to the H5N1 vaccine. We have contacted the Mainland authorities to seek support and help, and see whether we can do some experiments to see if that is more effective than our current vaccine. As the same time, we will also be doing experiment with the Hong Kong University to see whether that is a much better way of vaccination. We have given the Hong Kong University some samples in June, when we had an outbreak here. They have been conducting some tests on chickens, because of the difficulty of finding a totally, sort of a clean chicken without any immunity so far they were not conclusive. And they said they would take a bit more time.

Reporter:
Why don't we just use the vaccine of the Mainland? It is more cost effective...

Secretary for Food and Health:
I doubt about the cost, because we were offered the vaccine at that time at a much cheaper price than the vaccine we are using. So this is not a matter of cost, but whether it is effective. As you know that the virus that is detected in some parts of the Mainland is different from that we have detected in Hong Kong. So we got to make sure that the vaccine is effective first. So we have to rely on the scientific experts' opinion on how to use it. Even if we use it, we need to start off with some pilot areas and selected farms.

Reporter:
Do you have any idea what causes H5N1 to go through the biosecurity measures?

Secretary for Food and Health:
We don't have any conclusion yet, but we are doing the investigations to check the setting of the farm. And also to get statements from the various workers who work in the farm to see whether there were any lapse of biosecurity measures, and whether there are any measures that should have been taken but not being done. So it takes some time for that investigation. I am not sure if we can actually draw a conclusion at this time. But I think we will try every means to get information from the farm and also from the workers.

Reporter:
What factor do you think?

Secretary for Food and Health:
As I said yesterday, we cannot exclude anything. But this is a big farm with 60,000 chickens. And we have also monitored the number of chickens in each of those farms in Hong Kong every week. I think that opportunity is there, but I don't think this is something that we can be conclusive right now.

Reporter:
Any sign of spreading?

Secretary for Food and Health:
No. I think this is well controlled. As far as we know, the farm is the only place that had dead chickens in the last two days. Our inspectors have also gone through the other farms in Hong Kong. And every farm is normal, there is no sign of any untoward conditions or increasing deaths in those farms. We have also collected samples for testing for the PCR. It is a quick test. That should be available in a day or two. So far we do not see any sign of spreading. And I have to reassure that everything is under control. We will be responding if you have found any new evidence anywhere. As you know that we are always very concerned about avian flu in Hong Kong, and whenever we find any early signs, we will take action right away.

Reporter:
Have FAO or OIE been informed?

Secretary for Food and Health:
We have informed them. The samples we have to collect and do our own culture first.

(Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: SFH on avian influenza (12/11/2008) [SFH]

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the Legislative Council Building today (December 11):


Reporter:
The smuggling of fertilised eggs...what has been done to address the situation?

Secretary for Food and Health:
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department sent their inspectors to our farms on a regular basis, averaging about once a week. And they also recorded down the number of chicken breeders, young chicks and also fertilised eggs. So the numbers have been kept on a regular basis. With the preliminary figures we do not see any significant change of numbers on the farms in Hong Kong. But since the trade also said that it is a common practice, so we will do another round in the coming days to ensure our system is complied with. I have to say also that our departments are aware that last time when we had the H5N1 virus in our market in June, it is very closely related to the Dragon Boat Festival. So this time close to the winter solstice, we have reminded and sent a letter to the trade and recommended to them that if they see any unlawful activities or smuggling of chickens and so on, they should report to us. So far we have not received any reports from the trade.

Reporter:
...to do with smuggled chickens and fertilised eggs?

Secretary for Food and Health:
I think theoretically this can happen, but we do not have any evidence so far. I would appeal to the trade to give us any evidence if they can actually provide information.

Reporter:
(Positive samples?)

Secretary for Food and Health:
No. We have been examining the samples we have collected. So far there are two farms in the vicinity of this three-kilometre radius. And we have tested the chickens in the second farm, which turned out to be negative for H5. The other farms we have also tested in sequence, most of them are also negative. So far, we have not found any positive samples from the other farms. But we will do more samples in the coming weeks.

(Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: Follow-up work on avian flu (12/11/2008) [AFCD]

In response to media enquiries on the avian flu follow-up work, a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau today (December 11) said:


"The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) and the concerned departments are actively following up the work on the avian influenza. We are looking into the cause for the avian influenza outbreak at a Yuen Long chicken farm from different perspectives. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) staffs started with an in-depth examination of the biosecurity measures of the farms in addition to a study on the efficacy of the existing vaccine. They are taking a thorough look at the preventive measures taken by the farm, and the management and operation of the farms to see if there were any shortcomings.

Biosecurity measures of the farms have always been regarded by the experts as one of the most important preventive measures against the threat of avian influenza virus. AFCD staffs will increase their visits to the farms, especially in inspecting the measures and the implementation of the biosecurity measures by farm workers. They will provide instructions to farmers and workers when necessary. AFCD inspects the farms on a regular basis, and systematically keeps a record on the number of live chickens of different age, breeders, day old chicks and fertilised eggs.

Besides, if the chicken farmer wants to transport the live chickens or eggs in or out of the farm, they have to seek prior approval from AFCD.

Otherwise, AFCD may cancel the livestock keeping licence of the farm concerned. According to existing records, there is no discovery of any inconsistency in the number of chicken breeders, day old chicks and fertilised eggs at any of the farms (including the farm infected with avian influenza) at this initial stage.

However, in view of the avian flu incident recently, AFCD will continue to strengthen the inspections and verify all the records of the farms, including the number of chickens and eggs. At boundary crossings, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), the Marine Police, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), AFCD and the FHB have set up a task force last year to step up actions to deter smuggling activities. They meet on a regular basis and exchange intelligence.

In recent months, the departments concerned have conducted more inspections on travellers who are suspected of bringing in eggs and live poultry when crossing the border (e.g. Man Kam To).

As for the recent outbreak of avian influenza, the task force held a special meeting this morning to examine the situation and discuss further actions to combat smuggling activities. C&ED and the Marine Police will increase the number of random checks for suspected vehicles and vessels at land boundary crossings and on Hong Kong water. AFCD and FEHD have always called on the trade to report smuggling activities. If members of the trade have any information or intelligence regarding smuggling activities, they are urged to call the C&ED hotline at 2545 6181. On the retail level, the measure of 'no overnight stocking of live poultry' has not only strengthened our efforts to prevent avian influenza, it also helped combat smuggling of live chickens. FEHD staffs are making frequent visits to live poultry stalls.

They also conduct surprised checks, and examine their invoices and the number of live chickens in their stalls to see if they match in order to prevent smuggling activities.

FEHD will continue to strengthen their work in this respect. As regards the suggestion by the trade to resume the dispatch of chickens for farms five kilometres away from the index farm, the Bureau will not consider the proposal after taken into account the biosecurity and international practice."
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: Setting up investigation groups on avian influenza (12/12/2008) [FHB]

The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) announced today (December 12) the setting up of two investigation groups on avian influenza.


The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, said these two groups would spare no effort to investigate the avian influenza incident at the Yuen Long farm.

Apart from gathering the scientific data and information in relation to the incident, the investigation would help the Administration to formulate more effective measures and directions in the fight against avian influenza.

The two investigation groups are responsible for conducting the epidemiological study of avian influenza on the index farm and the vaccine study respectively.

The investigation group on epidemiological study will start with an in-depth examination of the biosecurity measures of the farm. It will take a thorough look at the preventive measures taken by the farm, the management and operation of the farm to see if there are any shortcomings. The group will try to identify the source of infection and the way which the virus could have got into the farm.

The investigation group on vaccine study will be responsible for conducting research and tests on the efficacy of the existing H5N2 vaccine.

The group will also study the effectiveness and quality of alternative vaccines, to see if they are applicable to the situation in Hong Kong.

The information and data gathered would facilitate the Administration in the choice of the most suitable vaccine.

The two groups comprised of representatives from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Department of Health and the Centre for Health Protection, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Centre for Food Safety, and the Customs and Excise Department. Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and Dr Lo King-shun from the University of Hong Kong, and an expert from the Ministry of Agriculture are also invited to join the groups.

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung is the Head of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Lo King-shun is the Head of the Laboratory Animal Unit of the University of Hong Kong.

Speaking on the investigation, Dr Chow said:
"I hope a preliminary report can be completed in two to three weeks by the investigation group on epidemiological study to give us a better understanding of the avian influenza infection at the Yuen Long farm, a full report can be completed in two months. The investigation group on vaccine study will submit a preliminary report in two to three months, and the full report will be submitted as early as possible within a year.
"At the moment, there is no scientific evidence showing that the virus has mutated. There is also no sign of any human to human transmission. The objective of forming the investigation groups is to find out hard facts and data for us to better prepare for combating avian influenza in the future."

The membership list of the investigation group on epidemiological study is as follows:
Convenor: Assistant Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (Inspection & Quarantine), Dr Thomas Sit

Members: Head of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung - Head of the Laboratory Animal Unit of the University of Hong Kong, Dr Lo King-shun - Representative of Department of Health and Centre for Health Protection Representative of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Centre for Food Safety Representative of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Representative of Customs and Excise Department Secretary: Representative of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Observer: Representative of Food and Health Bureau

The membership list of the investigation group on vaccine study is as follows:

Convenor: Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Vice-convenor: Deputy Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation

Members: Expert representative of the Ministry of Agriculture - Head of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung - Head of the Laboratory Animal Unit of the University of Hong Kong, Dr Lo King-shun - Representative of Department of Health and Centre for Health Protection Representative of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Secretary: Representative of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Observer: Representative of Food and Health Bureau
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

HK, Mainland and Macau test emergency response to avian flu (12/16/2008)

Health authorities of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau conducted a joint exercise today (December 16) to test their co-operation and co-ordination in the event of a cross-boundary incident of avian flu involving human cases.


Code-named "Exercise Great Wall 2008", the exercise was jointly organised by the Ministry of Health, the Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province, the Health Bureau of Macau, and the Food and Health Bureau, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong.

Over 60 public health officials and medical personnel took part in the exercise.

The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, said the exercise provided a valuable opportunity to test the communications channels, modes of joint operation and collaboration among health authorities in the three places during a public health emergency.

"Participants can review their joint response actions via video-conference in respective command and control centres.
"Timely notification of human avian influenza cases and collaboration for disease prevention and control among the three places are of utmost importance. The exercise will further strengthen collaboration and communication of the three places in emergency preparedness and response for public health crisis," Dr Chow said.

The Director of Health, Dr P Y Lam, said the Department of Health would continue to work closely with the health authorities on the Mainland and in Macau on the prevention and control of avian influenza and other infectious diseases.

This is the third joint exercise organised under the Co-operation Agreement on Response Mechanism for Public Health Emergencies signed by the three places in 2005. The scenario of today's exercise unfolded when a 48-year-old man and his 13-year-old daughter living in Hong Kong were confirmed to have been infected with avian influenza virus after visiting the man's wife in the mainland. The man's wife was also confirmed to have been infected by the disease later on. Investigation revealed that the man and his daughter had visited a poultry farm during their stay on the Mainland. The wife and her parents subsequently joined a tour to Hong Kong and Macau. During her stay in Hong Kong, the woman and her husband purchased a chicken from a live poultry retail market for a meal.

In the exercise, the Hong Kong Government activated the "Serious Response Level" and notified their counterparts on the Mainland and in Macau of the cases.

In order to control and prevent the spread of the disease, health authorities of the three places immediately initiated a series of public health measures including investigation and control of the outbreak, management of patients and exchange of information in the three places.

During the exercise, emergency responses--including notification of counterparts in the three places, epidemiological investigation of the affected patients, contact tracing and medical surveillance for probable cases--were tested through telecommunication facilities.

The exercise ended when experts from the three places exchanged information on their respective actions and the situation was brought under control with no new cases detected in the three places.
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[Giuseppe]

Re: HONG KONG (SAR OF PRC): AVIAN INFLUENZA POULTRY EPIZOOTIC, GOVT RESPONSE AND PRESS RELEASES (Dec 9, 2008+)

Hong Kong: Kowloon Central Cluster conducts avian influenza drill (12/18/2008)

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

A drill code-named ''Exercise Juniper'' was conducted in the Kowloon Central Cluster yesterday (December 17) to enhance the alertness and awareness of frontline staff to contingency measures in the management of patients with suspected avian influenza infection.

It was the cluster's regular and scheduled drill to test hospitals' response to an avian influenza outbreak.

The drill was conducted in a scenario where the Serious Response Level had been activated in Hong Kong hospitals.

The scenario simulated two patients suspected of avian flu being identified at the Buddhist Hospital's General Out-patient Clinic and Lee Kee Memorial Dispensary and subsequently transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment.

About 100 staff members of Kowloon Central Cluster participated in the drill including staff of the two general out-patient clinics, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Department of Anaesthesiology & Operating Theatre Services, Administrative and Supporting Services, and Infection Control Team.

The drill was smoothly conducted and all patient services were maintained without interruption.

A debriefing had been held after the drill to review the communication flow and the response plan.
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