Scientists must run disease control centre, experts urge

Unfettered power and clear responsibilities make the US model a success, they say

Plans to build a Hong Kong centre for disease control (CDC) may strengthen the city's ability to head off future epidemics from southern China, experts say, but they warn that unless the government gets it right there could be another Sars-like crisis in the making.

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced in May that an agency similar to the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, would be established to fight and prevent infectious diseases. The Hong Kong Jockey Club's charity foundation has pledged $500 million for the project.

The project is aimed at improving Hong Kong's ability to detect and battle outbreaks from southern China, regarded as a breeding ground for infectious diseases, such as bird flu and Sars. The Guangdong government said on Friday it would spend 500 million yuan (HK$470 million) to rebuild its CDC. Health officials on both sides of the border have pledged to improve disease control communication.Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong has said a framework for Hong Kong's CDC would be ready for public consultation in two to three months, but that the centre would be built in the long term.

Experts are worried about the administration of the local CDC, saying the centre must be manned by professional scientists and have unfettered control of its investigation work.

'You have to define clearly what the function of a centre for disease control would be. The most important thing is to rationalise the responsibilities of the persons in charge of public health,' said Wong Tze-wai of the Chinese University's Department of Community and Family Medicine.