Health
Centre for Health Protection
The Centre for Health Protection collaborates with local and international counterparts to prevent and control diseases in Hong Kong. It works on three principles: real-time surveillance, rapid intervention and responsive risk communication. The centre keeps track of communicable diseases and issues surveillance reports on a regular basis, as well as reports on laboratory data.
A board of scientific advisers and six scientific committees meet periodically to help the centre formulate effective policies to improve the health protection system.
The centre maintains close liaison with District Councils and Healthy Cities projects at district. level and solicits their support to disseminate health information and guidelines, to alert the public to health threats and facilitate rapid implementation of preventive measures, and to carry out other health promotion activities. It also shares professional knowledge and experience in combating diseases with other health authorities in the Mainland and Macao and at the WHO.
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases
The Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance specifies 50 statutory notifiable infectious diseases in Hong Kong. In 2016, 17,503 cases were reported, of which about 8,880 and 4,412 were diagnosed as chickenpox and tuberculosis respectively.
Up to December 2016, Hong Kong had confirmed 16 human cases of avian influenza A (H7N9) since the city reported its first human case in December 2013. All 16 cases were considered upon investigation to be sporadic imported cases. A Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic defines the city's respective response levels, sets out the corresponding command structures and outlines the measures to be taken when a pandemic develops.
The centre continually reviews and updates its strategies for coping with major outbreaks of infectious diseases, including the Ebola virus disease, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Zika virus infection, ensuring both the government and the community are prepared to deal with them.
Vaccination
Children are protected against communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox and pneumococcal disease under a Childhood Immunisation Programme.
The Government Vaccination Programme, which includes a Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme, provides eligible people in target groups with free seasonal flu and pneumococcal vaccinations each year at public hospitals and clinics, residential care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities, and designated institutions serving people with intellectual disability. In November, the programmes extended free seasonal flu vaccination to all children from six months to under 12 years old from families with financial difficulties and to Disability Allowance recipients living in the community.
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