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SCMP Reporter

Updated at 7.02pm:
Health authorities of Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong signed an agreement on Thursday to strengthen co-operation in fighting infectious diseases.
 
The agreement was reached at the sixth tripartite meeting of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Expert Group on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases. It was held in Dongguan on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Health director Lam Ping-yan, who led the Hong Kong delegation said: ?We have examined preparations and preparedness for a flu pandemic and monitoring of suspicious pneumonia cases.?
 
He said agreements included establishing an expert team on the prevention and treatment of human bird flu. 
They had also finalised a list of experts to conduct more research on Aids, human-avian influenza and dengue fever.

Participants included more than 60 public health and medical experts.

During the meeting, they reviewed work in monitoring, prevention and communication of infectious diseases.

 They also held discussions on key health issues ? including preparing for a bird flu pandemic.

Hong Kong?s Department of Health will organise the seventh tripartite meeting scheduled for July next year. 

There is widespread concern in southern China about the growing threat of avian flu, which has already reported 19 human bird-flu cases. Twelve people in the mainland have died from the disease.

Six died from avian influenza in Hong Kong in 1998.



China, Macau and HK discuss combating infectious diseases