WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1986
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ANTI-CHOLERA STRATEGY CARRIED OUT REGULARLY
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MEASURE TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF CHOLERA ARE BEING CARRIED OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS BY THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS CONCERNED, INCLUDING THE URBAN SERVICES AND REGIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS AND THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE, THE HON JOHN CHAMBERS, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
REPLYING TO A QUESTION BY THE HON LEE YU-TAI, HE SAID THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION HAD ADVISED THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF CHOLERA WAS THE MAINTENANCE OF A HIGH STANDARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE AND SANITATION, AN EFFECTIVE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM, AND THE DIAGNOSIS, ISOLATION AND TREATMENT OF CASES.
+OUR SUCCESS IN CONTAINING THE SPREAD OF CHOLERA IN HONG KONG IN RECENT YEARS IS IN ITSELF A TESTIMONY TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE MEASURES, + HE SAID.
MR CHAMBERS POINTED OUT THE CHOLERA CASES ENCOUNTERED IN HONG KONG RECENTLY WERE OF A TYPE KNOWN AS CHOLERA EL TOR WHICH DIFFERED FROM CLASSICAL CHOLERA, HE SAID THAT IN THE CHOLERA EL TOR TYPE THERE WAS THE PRESENCE OF A CARRIER STATE, WHICH MEANT THAT INDIVIDUALS MIGHT BE HARBOURING THE BACTERIA WITHOUT SHOWING ANY SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS.
+EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT DUE TO ITS ENDEMIC NATURE AND THE EXISTENCE OF A CARRIER STATE OF THE DISEASE, THE INTRODUCTION OF CHOLERA INTO A COUNTRY CANNOT BE PREVENTED BY MEASURES SUCH AS HEALTH SCREENING OF TRAVELLERS AT POINTS OF ENTRY, HE SAID.
+THUS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION'S PRACTICE AND ADVICE, HONG KONG, LIKE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES, DOES NOT REQUIRE HEALTH SCREENING OF PERSONS COMING IN FROM OTHER PLACES, + HE ADDED.
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TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION POLICY TO CONTINUE
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NATURAL DISASTER VICTIMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ALLOWED TEMPORARY STAY IN COMMUNITY CENTRES ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS FOLLOWING A REVIEW OF EXISTING POLICY LAST MONTH, THE SECRETARY FOR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, THE HON DONALD LIAO, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
REPLYING TO A QUESTION FROM DR THE HON CONRAD LAM. MR LIAO STRESSED, HOWEVER, THAT EFFORTS WOULD BE MADE TO ENSURE THAT FAMILIES RENDERED HOMELESS BY NATURAL DISASTER WERE PERMANENTLY REHOUSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR ELIGIBILITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO MINIMISE ANY DISRUPTION CAUSED TO THE OPERATION OF COMMUNITY CENTRES.
/HE SAID
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