Page 478 of 498
524
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The Department of Health will continue to liaise closely with the Australian Consulate General to monitor developments.
So far, the Department of Health is not aware of any international health organizations, such as the World Health Organization, having issued any situation report on the incident.
The last part of the question concerns an anthrax case in 1994, the symptoms and preventive measures.
Regarding the fatal case of anthrax reported in 1994 in Hong Kong, the source of infection could not be detected despite a thorough investigation carried out by the Department of Health.
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease and the symptom depends on which part of the human body is infected. Generally speaking, skin surface exposed to anthrax would develop a black scab and if not treated, the infection may spread. If spores of the bacteria are inhaled into the lungs, the patient would develop symptoms like a common cold but the condition would progress rapidly with fever, shortness of breath and shock in a few days' time. If contaminated meat that is not thoroughly cooked is ingested, the patient would show abdominal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea which would be followed by fever, shock and death in a typical case.
The preventive measures of anthrax include the following:
(a) proper treatment and handling of animals and animal products in agricultural and industrial settings;
(b) education of workers on personal hygiene and care of skin abrasions;
(c) avoidance of slaughtering suspected or affected animals;
(d) proper meat inspection in abattoir; and
(e) thorough cooking of meat.
MR. CHAN KWOK-LEUNG (in Cantonese): The Chairman of the Select Committee mentioned five methods for the prevention of anthrax. They sound easy, but there are difficulties in putting them into practice. Take for example this case of anthrax before us, some of the infected meat came from Australia. In general, meat imported from Australia is of prime quality and served in hotels or western-style restaurants. Meat served there is not necessarily fully cooked. As a result, the bacteria of anthrax may easily be eaten with meat cooked rare. The symptoms of anthrax are quite similar to general intestinal diseases, say diarrhoea and vomiting. As the symptoms are not serious, the public may not be aware. I want to ask Mr. CHAN whether it is possible to step up publicity or even require restaurants to serve fully cooked meat.
We rely to a large extent on neighbouring countries for both fresh and frozen meat. The second question pinpoints the lack of meat supply locally in Hong Kong. When a problem surfaced, it was found that surveillance work at the source was inadequate. For the anthrax case of 1994 which took a life, we did not even know the source. From the announcement by the Department of Health yesterday, we realize that O-157 Bacillus coli communis exist in Hong Kong. As it takes a long time to carry out chemical tests, some of the meat may have gone into the market. I want to ask the Chairman of the Select Committee whether we can review the methods of monitoring the import source of meat so as to reduce the risk of infection. These methods may include shortening the time required for tests, simplifying the sampling procedure and taking more samples. The health of our citizens should be protected.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
525
Mr. Joseph Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, on publicity and education, we can surely do more. As to requiring restaurants to cook beef fully, I think it is quite difficult to enforce at the moment. I do not see that there is an absolute need to do so either. For meat imported from abroad, they come with a health certificate of their country of origin and they have to be issued with a certificate by the Department of Health. Meat imported by hotels should comply with health standards. As for the isolated case of anthrax in 1994, it is the one and only case up to the present. Although the disease is noted in Australia, we have not discovered the import of any such kind of beef. When meat from Australia is tested in Hong Kong, the bacteria of anthrax have not been found. So although beef served at our restaurants is only cooked to half done, they still comply with health standards.
As for monitoring the import of beef, we have in place in Hong Kong a full set of machinery and the Department of Health has a set of monitoring systems that comply with international health standards. As for the import of cattle, the Agriculture and Fisheries Department is responsible for monitoring work.
Mr. CHAN's question involves O-157 type of Bacillus coli communis. It is not covered by the topic under discussion now. As to the comment on the suitability of the timing of the announcement and the need for a long time to carry out tests, the Department of Health made a statement already. As the tests are complicated, they take longer. A longer time is therefore needed before any announcement is made. There is no one in Hong Kong infected with this bacteria. The Department of Health found the bacteria when making random sampling at supermarkets and immediate action was taken to improve the situation. The relevant supermarkets destroyed the infected meat and the Department of Health is still tracing the source of bacteria by inspecting abattoirs. It is not suitable to draw any conclusions at this stage because the source of bacteria is still being traced. As for the abattoirs under the Urban Council, action has been stepped up to strengthen sanitation, including sanitation at the slaughtering stage because the bacteria are mainly found in cattle manure.
Mr. Chairman, I feel that this question should not be one on O-157 type bacteria. It is just that a Member happened to mention it.
Page 478
Page 478 of 498
Page 478 of 498