(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-03 17:10

HONG KONG -- Health authorities of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao held a joint communication exercise Monday shortly after a man in east China's Jiangsu Province died of avian flu on Sunday.

The exercise was to test their cooperation and coordination in mounting an emergency response in the event of a cross-border incident of avian flu involving human cases.

The Secretary for Food and Health Dr. York Chow, who led Hong Kong's team in the exercise, said the joint exercise was a valuable opportunity for the three places to review their response actions via video-conference in respective command and control centers.

"The exercise has further bolstered collaboration and communication among the three places in emergency preparedness and response for public health crisis," Chow said, adding "the importance of timely notification and collaboration for the prevention of avian influenza and pandemic influenza was highlighted."

The Director of Health, Dr. P Y Lam, said that the Department of Health would strengthen its work with health authorities on the Chinese mainland and in Macao in the prevention of infectious diseases.

It was the second joint exercise organized under the Cooperation Agreement on Response Mechanism for Public Health Emergencies signed by the three places in 2005.

Code-named "Great Wall 2007", the exercise was based on a scenario in which several members of a family on the Chinese mainland had been infected with avian flu during a visit to a poultry market and one of them had traveled by public transport to Hong Kong via Macao before symptoms emerged.

During the exercise, emergency responses set out in preparedness plans were tested, including the notification of counterparts in the three places, epidemiological investigation of the affected patients, contact tracing and medical surveillance for probable cases.

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