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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13172&Itemid=28
Region continues battle with infectious disease
Saturday, 28 June 2008
by Nigel Huxtable
Macau will continue to work with its neighbours to battle the region's hardiest infectious diseases such as dengue fever, tuberculoses and HIV.
Health officials from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau met over the last two days to discuss how to lower infection rates and contain outbreaks of disease that is still active in the region.
Questions on avian flu dominated a joint press conference held by the heads of the three departments yesterday.
The Hong Kong director of health, Lam Ping-yan, stressed that the city had not recently experienced an outbreak of bird flu, rather swabs taken from several wet markets selling live chickens had picked it up.
However officials didn't take the presence of the disease that in 1997 infected 18 and killed six people lightly. More than 3,500 chickens were immediately killed and imports of the live birds from China were banned. The government is now trying to end the sale of live chickens permanently by buying back sales licenses.
Dr Lam said officials were still trying to determine the source of the most recently detected virus and determine if it was linked to the strain that killed 4,000 ducks at a farm in Guangdong at the same time.
Whatever the outcome over the license buy-back negotiation, Hong Kong looks set to implement anti-avian flu measures already in force in Macau.
Locally, traded chickens are not permitted to be kept alive overnight and must be slaughtered at the end of each day's trading.
The main aim of the measure is to ?shorten the period that live poultry can stay in the market?, and thereby lessen the chance of an infection spreading, said Lei Chin Ion, director of Macau's health bureau.
Surveillance for the disease will be stepped up in Guangdong, said the province's health bureau associate director, Huang Fei. The disease was also picked up by a human in Guangdong in February.
The summary of the one and a half day meeting was short on detail and contained well used statements about working together on reporting mechanisms and training.
Unusually Dr Lam said avian flu wasn't on the agenda during this meeting despite its high profile re-emergence.
Vaccination against influenza was however addressed with Macau revealing it is considering increasing the eligibility for the free vaccinations.
Currently children younger than three years and those above 65 years are encouraged to take the yearly flu shot.
However the health bureau is considering increasing the age range for children to six years.
Research on the source of dengue fever outbreaks will also be stepped up. So far this year Macau hasn't seen any infections while Hong Kong has reported 11.
The substantial rain seen in the last two months could increase the potential breeding grounds for mosquitos, which carry the disease, said Dr Lei.
?We will have to be careful not to leave the pools of water that have formed lying around,? he said.
Next year the ninth joint meeting on the prevention of infectious diseases will be held in Guangdong.
Region continues battle with infectious disease
Saturday, 28 June 2008
by Nigel Huxtable
Macau will continue to work with its neighbours to battle the region's hardiest infectious diseases such as dengue fever, tuberculoses and HIV.
Health officials from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau met over the last two days to discuss how to lower infection rates and contain outbreaks of disease that is still active in the region.
Questions on avian flu dominated a joint press conference held by the heads of the three departments yesterday.
The Hong Kong director of health, Lam Ping-yan, stressed that the city had not recently experienced an outbreak of bird flu, rather swabs taken from several wet markets selling live chickens had picked it up.
However officials didn't take the presence of the disease that in 1997 infected 18 and killed six people lightly. More than 3,500 chickens were immediately killed and imports of the live birds from China were banned. The government is now trying to end the sale of live chickens permanently by buying back sales licenses.
Dr Lam said officials were still trying to determine the source of the most recently detected virus and determine if it was linked to the strain that killed 4,000 ducks at a farm in Guangdong at the same time.
Whatever the outcome over the license buy-back negotiation, Hong Kong looks set to implement anti-avian flu measures already in force in Macau.
Locally, traded chickens are not permitted to be kept alive overnight and must be slaughtered at the end of each day's trading.
The main aim of the measure is to ?shorten the period that live poultry can stay in the market?, and thereby lessen the chance of an infection spreading, said Lei Chin Ion, director of Macau's health bureau.
Surveillance for the disease will be stepped up in Guangdong, said the province's health bureau associate director, Huang Fei. The disease was also picked up by a human in Guangdong in February.
The summary of the one and a half day meeting was short on detail and contained well used statements about working together on reporting mechanisms and training.
Unusually Dr Lam said avian flu wasn't on the agenda during this meeting despite its high profile re-emergence.
Vaccination against influenza was however addressed with Macau revealing it is considering increasing the eligibility for the free vaccinations.
Currently children younger than three years and those above 65 years are encouraged to take the yearly flu shot.
However the health bureau is considering increasing the age range for children to six years.
Research on the source of dengue fever outbreaks will also be stepped up. So far this year Macau hasn't seen any infections while Hong Kong has reported 11.
The substantial rain seen in the last two months could increase the potential breeding grounds for mosquitos, which carry the disease, said Dr Lei.
?We will have to be careful not to leave the pools of water that have formed lying around,? he said.
Next year the ninth joint meeting on the prevention of infectious diseases will be held in Guangdong.