Hong Kong is vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases because it is at a 'crossroad of the world', according to World Health Organisation (WHO) official David Heymann.
But he said the city had well-trained medical professionals who could staff a centre for disease control.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Hong Kong yesterday, Dr Heymann, executive director of communicable diseases, said: 'Hong Kong has an international airport, which is extremely busy throughout the Asian region. Therefore, it is not only susceptible to many diseases coming in, but also to exporting diseases.
'Diseases today travel around the world in humans, they travel around the world in insects, many times in mosquitoes. They travel in food products, animals and livestock. Hong Kong is very important for three of those. So you constantly receive aeroplanes that may be carrying infections or taking infections.'
He also warned there were dangers because of Hong Kong's dense population and the design of its high-rise residential buildings, as well as its close contact with the mainland. 'Because of the massive population movement [on the mainland], cross-border activities bring or take infectious diseases from Hong Kong or into Hong Kong,' he said.
However, he believed the city's medical professionals could be useful in establishing a centre for disease control. Centres could also be set up in Taipei and Canada.
Dr Heymann said a debate was still being conducted over whether there should be a network of disease centres in different countries, each working in a certain area with a secretary who would co-ordinate events, or whether it should be a single institution in one country.
