Guangdong and Hong Kong health officials have fine-tuned their reporting system by agreeing to set up an online platform where they can post data on infectious disease outbreaks.
Guangdong Health Department Deputy Director-General Wang Zhiqiong said after meeting Hong Kong Deputy Director of Health Leung Pak-yin that they hoped to set up the platform this year.
Dr Leung said that there would be further fine-tuning of the reporting mechanism at a meeting in Macau in August.
Both sides agreed yesterday to add encephalitis B to the list of six diseases that they can communicate on directly without going through the central government.
The six are Aids, tuberculosis, cholera, flu, malaria and dengue fever. Guangdong authorities reported on Thursday that there were 211 encephalitis cases in the province and 18 children had died.
'As soon as we discover a sudden outbreak of an infectious disease that can affect Hong Kong people coming to Guangdong, we will immediately inform Hong Kong,' Dr Wang said.
Dr Leung said the purpose of his visit was also to find out more about the encephalitis B outbreak and Guangdong's experience in treating the disease, as it was not common in Hong Kong.