2006-02-18
The World Health Organization (WHO) formally designated a laboratory of the Department of Health (DH) as a Supranational Tuberculosis (TB) Reference Laboratory to monitor the global TB control and treatment programmes.
Speaking at the designation ceremony today (February 18), the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, said the designation of the DH's TB Reference Laboratory reaffirmed its proficiency in performing anti-TB drug susceptibility testing.
The honour is also an appreciation of the laboratory's persistent participation in projects organised by WHO and worldwide healthcare partners in the fight against TB, and its contribution in providing supervision, in terms of quality control and training, to TB laboratories of other countries, he added.
During the ceremony, the Director, Combating Communicable Diseases of WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office, Dato' Dr Tee Ah Sian presented the designation document to the Director of Health, Dr PY Lam. In her speech, Dr Tee said that drug resistant forms of TB, especially multidrug-resistant TB, are a significant public health challenge in many areas of the world.
Dr Tee was pleased to note that DH's TB Reference Laboratory, as a supranational laboratory, will continue to take part actively in global projects on anti-TB drug resistance surveillance and to offer technical as well as training supports to other places and countries.
Including today's designation, there are now 25 Supranational TB Reference Laboratories in the world. Of them, four are located in the Western Pacific Region, namely Japan, South Korean, Australia and Hong Kong.
This network of laboratories is associated with the WHO and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) Global Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Surveillance.
Its objective is to monitor the threat of drug resistant forms of TB so that strategic planning of disease control could be formulated.
DH's TB reference laboratory supports the TB control programme and provides quality laboratory services for the clinical management, surveillance and epidemiological investigations of the disease in Hong Kong. An average of 400-500 specimens, mostly from DH's chest clinics and others from hospitals, are processed by the laboratory daily.
It has also been providing technical assistance, including supervision and proficiency testing, to TB laboratories in the Mainland and Laos. Training for laboratory technicians and various Mainland provinces on the technical aspects of TB laboratory testing are also offered.
Also attending today's event were representative from Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, Dr Melvin Spigelman; and overseas experts Dr William Burman and Prof Verapol Chandeying. Other DH's representatives included the Controller of DH's Centre for Health Protection, Dr P Y Leung; and Head of the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch, Dr Wilina Lim.
End/Saturday, February 18, 2006