Press Releases

Closer cross-border cooperation to prevent disease spreading

Hong Kong and mainland officials, together with representatives from other countries, will meet later in a meeting organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Hong Kong to discuss various health issues relating to the severe respiratory syndrome that has recently struck Hong Kong and various parts of the world.

The Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, told the media today (March 22) before attending the fellowship conferment ceremony of the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine and the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians.

He was joined at the media session by the Minister of Health of the People's Republic of China, Dr Zhang Wenkang, and the Regional Director of the World Health Organisation (Western Pacific Region), Mr Shigeru Omi.

Dr Yeoh had met Dr Zhang Wenkang earlier today to discuss cross-border cooperation on health matters.

He said Hong Kong and the mainland had agreed to foster closer ties on information exchange and disease notification on the recent outbreak of severe respiratory syndrome which had affected some 200 people in Hong Kong, most of them are health care workers and relatives who have close contacts with the pneumonia patients.

Efforts would be made to provide as much information as possible about infectious disease in the mainland through the Ministry of Health in Beijing, he said.

Dr Yeoh said he would also seek to enhance communications with the Guangdong authorities and would discuss further with the Guangdong authorities to understand more about the infectious disease particularly the severe respiratory syndrome cases in the province, and to foster closer cooperation in controlling the spread of the disease.

WHO has also sent its team of experts to Hong Kong to provide technical assistance to the Hong Kong health authorities.

Hong Kong is a member of the WHO Western Pacific Region and is in close contact with the WHO on the recent outbreak of severe respiratory syndrome cases.

End/Saturday, March 22, 2003
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