The Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement that it co-hosted a conference yesterday with the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission and Hong Kong Department of Health (DH), officially called “22nd Tripartite Meeting of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao on Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases”, and SSM Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said in a speech by video link that “chikungunya and dengue fever have been brought under significant control.”
Yesterday’s conference, which took place in Hong Kong, was attended in person by SSM Acting Deputy Director Tai Wa Hou, Guangdong Provincial Health Commission Deputy Director-cum-Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director Song Tie, and Hong Kong Director of Health Ronald Lam Man Kin.
Song said in a speech that since the beginning of this year, the three places have achieved “seamless” coordination in areas such as disease surveillance – for vector-borne diseases like Chikungunya – risk assessment, information sharing, and emergency response. The joint public health exercise, code-named “Jingfeng”, recently conducted in the runup to the 15th National Games and the 12th National Games for Person with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, has also helped build a multi-layered public health security network characterised by “integrated defence and multi-disease prevention,” Song said.
Dr Lam said that Guangdong and Macau have demonstrated outstanding effectiveness in prevention and control, as well as high-efficiency response capabilities in dealing with the chikungunya outbreak, providing valuable points of reference for Hong Kong. Dr Lam also emphasised that the “Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme” and its measures for controlling various infectious diseases through vaccination have set an “exemplary” model.
In his speech by video link, Dr Lo pointed out that cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in the field of infectious disease prevention and control has been continuously deepening. Since July this year, the joint prevention and control mechanism has successfully brought Chikungunya and dengue fever “under significant control”, considering the world’s infectious disease challenges, Dr Lo said.
Dr Lo also said that the one-day conference was of great significance for strengthening regional collaboration, enhancing the effectiveness of prevention and control, and safeguarding public health.
According to the statement, the conference reviewed and summarised the cooperative achievements made by the three places since the previous one, in areas such as public health emergency response, infectious disease surveillance and prevention, and information sharing.
The statement also said that the conference consisted of in-depth exchanges and extensive discussions on key topics, such as the general epidemic situation of major infectious diseases in the three places; the prevention and control of seasonal influenza and other vaccine-preventable diseases; the current status and containment measures for Chikungunya and dengue fever; as well as infection control in healthcare settings, and the prevention, control and monitoring of antimicrobial resistance.
Hong Kong Director of Health Ronald Lam Man Kin (centre), Guangdong Provincial Health Commission Deputy Director-cum-Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Song Tie (left), and Macau Health Bureau Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) Head Leong Iek Hou pose during yesterday’s ceremony marking the signing of the one-day conference’s minutes. – Photo: GCS
