2006-09-27
An exercise was mounted today (September 27) to review some frontline operations in the event of human case of avian flu.
Code-named Cypress, the exercise was organized by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health in collaboration with the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau, the Hospital Authority (HA), and the Fire Services Department.
More than 500 participants took part in the exercise. Over 30 experts from the Mainland, Macau and Hong Kong have also participated in this exercise as observers.
The exercise scenario unfolded when two members of a tour group from Hong Kong developed avian flu symptoms after visiting a fictitious country in South East Asia.
They were later confirmed to have been infected with avian flu and were admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment.
Upon receiving notification of the cases, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food immediately convened a high-level meeting and decided to activate the Serious Response Level of the three-level response system relating to influenza pandemic.
The CHP immediately swung into action, which included conducting epidemiological investigation and contact tracing for people in Hong Kong who had been in contact with the two patients.
Television and radio appeals were broadcast urging passengers taking the same flight with the two patients and have symptoms to call the specially set-up hotline.
Emergency response measures have been implemented in PMH and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital when crowds of people turned up at their Accident and Emergency Departments for consultation.
To contain the spread of the disease, suspected avian flu patients were put into the isolation wards.
There were ground movements in this exercise, which included the triaging of patients and the transfer of patients from one hospital to another.
The exercise came to the end when the patients were isolated for treatment and a press conference had been conducted jointly by CHP and HA.
Commenting on the exercise, the Director of Health, Dr PY Lam said that the focus of the exercise was on frontline operations, such as the handling and transfer of patients in public hospitals and contact tracing by CHP's personnel.
"We want to review the readiness of public hospitals in handling an influx of patients and the efficiency of the CHP's Surveillance and Epidemiology Branch in contact tracing when a sudden and large number of people turned up to the hospitals for consultation.
"It enables us to review the effectiveness of the procedures laid down in our contingency plan as well as the coordination among departments and organizations taking part in the exercise," Dr Lam said.
Dr Lam added that even though there had been no human case of avian flu in Hong Kong since 2004, we have to remain vigilant and be well prepared for a possible outbreak of the disease.
End/Wednesday, September 27, 2006