HEALTH
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To reduce the number of women developing and dying from cervical cancer, the Department of Health, in collaboration with other health care providers, has been planning for the introduction of a Cervical Screening Programme in 2004. It is recommended that women aged 25 to 64 years receive three-yearly cervical smears following two consecutive yearly negative smears. In 2003, a Cervical Screening Information System was under development by the department to collect and analyse data on cervical smears.
Communicable Diseases
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
In early 2003, infections caused by a previously unknown coronavirus broke out in Hong Kong. The disease was later named as SARS by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It proved to be a major new threat to international public health. The epidemic in Hong Kong lasted for a period of three months and infected 1755 individuals, 299 of whom died.
The Government put in place comprehensive public health measures to bring the epidemic under control. It declared SARS a statutory notifiable disease and conducted a comprehensive public education programme to heighten awareness of the SARS symptoms so that potential cases were taken to medical facilities as early as possible. The Government also stepped up health checks at boundary and immigration control points, through health declarations and temperature screening, to prevent SARS being spread by the travelling public.
Modern technology such as the online e-SARS database developed by the Hospital Authority and the Major Incident Investigation and Disaster Support System of the Hong Kong Police Force were utilised to provide timely contact tracing of SARS patients as well as to expand the scope of such tracing. To stop the spread of SARS in the community, the Director of Health also required the close contacts of suspected and confirmed SARS patients to undergo home confinement and medical surveillance for a maximum of 10 days.
The Government established a multi-disciplinary response team to carry out immediate investigation and undertake prompt remedial action in buildings where SARS cases were reported so as to minimise the risk of environmental transmission within the community.
Hospital infection control measures were heightened through giving health care staff training in infection control and providing staff with adequate protective gear. A region-wide cleansing and disinfection campaign was also launched in late March to clean up public places and to encourage all members of the community to clean their environment.
During the fight against SARS, the Government maintained close liaison with the WHO and other national authorities, and held daily press briefings to keep the local and international communities informed of the latest developments concerning the epidemic. It also improved the notification mechanism between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province and extended it from May to cover Macau.
With the concerted efforts of the community, the epidemic in Hong Kong, regarded by WHO as one of the hardest to contain because of the region's high population density and extensive cross-boundary travel, was successfully controlled. On June 23, the WHO removed Hong Kong from the list of areas with recent local transmission.