Hong Kong Conducts Public Health Exercise to Prepare for Avian Influenza Cases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza (with photos/video)

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH), in collaboration with relevant government departments, today (November 27) conducted a public health exercise, code-named "Amazonite", to enhance its response capabilities in dealing with a human case of avian influenza infection, and to strengthen the execution and co-ordination abilities of the DH and relevant departments in response to a human case of avian influenza, in order to enhance awareness among stakeholders on the handling of public health emergencies.

The exercise consisted of two parts. The ground movement exercise today was held at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market. Under the exercise simulation, the CHP had received a notification from the Hospital Authority (HA) about a woman with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, and commenced epidemiological investigations immediately. The investigations revealed that the patient was a chicken stallholder at a wet market. The CHP co-ordinated with relevant departments to conduct on-site investigations and risk assessment, and implement control measures at the patient's residential building, the market where she worked, the wholesale poultry market, and related chicken farms. The ground movement exercise tested the capability of the CHP and relevant departments to carry out investigation and control measures, which included contact tracing and prescription of prophylactic antiviral therapy; chicken, environmental and sewage sampling; culling of chickens and disinfecting environmental. Approximately 30 personnel from four government departments participated in this ground movement exercise, along with over 30 experts from the Mainland, Macao and Singapore health authorities, who were invited to attend as observers.

The expert observers also attended the exercise briefing held at the CHP in the morning before the ground movement exercise, and visited the Lai Wan Market in the afternoon after the ground movement exercise to learn about the design features of new-style poultry stalls in the market.

The first part of the exercise, conducted on November 7, was a table-top exercise in which four relevant government departments and the HA discussed and co-ordinated the response measures required in a simulated scenario when a local human case of avian influenza A (H5N1) was reported in Hong Kong.

"This exercise provided a valuable opportunity for relevant government departments and the HA to test the response capabilities of stakeholders in the handling of a human case of avian influenza. The DH has held 30 similar exercises in the past, simulating the situation with cases such as measles, plague, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola virus disease to enhance the community and healthcare personnel's awareness of possible epidemics, and keep them alert and prepared," the spokesman for the CHP said.

Avian influenza is caused by influenza A viruses that mainly affect birds and poultry, such as chickens or ducks. Some avian influenza viruses can infect and spread to other animals, such as mammals, as well. Humans mainly become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments.

"According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities outside Hong Kong, as of November 2024, more than 900 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported worldwide. So far this year, an increasing number of related cases were reported globally than previous years, with most of them reported from the United States. Locally, avian influenza is one of the statutory notifiable infectious diseases in Hong Kong. Since 1997, a total of 22 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been recorded in Hong Kong, among which seven had died. The most recent case was recorded in 2012. Although there is no evidence of genetic mutations in the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus that are associated with increased infectivity among people, the WHO has indicated that the global mortality rate of human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the past 20 years has exceeded 50 per cent. We shall stay vigilant and get prepared to prevent and combat the disease," the spokesman said.

For more information on avian influenza, the public may visit the CHP's thematic page on avian influenza.

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FEHD responds to media enquiries on application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter

In response to media enquiries regarding the application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter, a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) gave the following response on July 10:

Applicants have sole responsibility to confirm that the premises permits the entry of dogs

The FEHD has clearly required in the application forms that applicants must confirm that the premises in which their food premises operates permits the entry of dogs and declare the information submitted is true. The FEHD solemnly points out that if applicants are found to have provided false information, they may bear legal liability.

The FEHD reiterated that, as the rules governing the use of various premises (including permission for dogs entry) are subject to relevant provisions in tenancy agreement, property titles and deeds of mutual covenant, restaurant operators have responsibility to, and must clarify the fact with property stakeholders, and reach a consensus on whether to permit the entry of dogs before submitting applications to the FEHD.

The FEHD respects the legal rights and decisions of property stakeholders. Should the FEHD discover, after an application has been submitted or approved, that the applicant has provided incorrect information and that the premises where the food premises is located do not in fact permit the entry of dogs, the FEHD will take decisive action to suspend processing of the relevant application or revoke the permission granted. To assist the industry in accurately understanding the relevant requirements, the FEHD has previously organised a number of briefing sessions. The department will also maintain communication with restaurant operators and property stakeholders, and provide appropriate assistance whilst ensuring compliance.

Operational status of the permitted food premises

As for the enquiries from the media regarding a few of food premises on the "List of Food Premises Permitted for Dog Entry" were found to have closed down or did not even exist, the FEHD clarified that the information was not align with the information obtained by the department. The FEHD verified the operational status of the applying food premises from two perspectives:

1. The licences of all the participating food premises were valid at the event of the open ballot.

2. A dedicated team from the FEHD visited each approved establishment. Even where a restaurant was not open for business at the time, the team proactively contacted the licence holders to confirm that they still required such permission before issuing the permits.

The FEHD pointed out that, it is a normal market occurrence for individual restaurants to find themselves in different operational situations due to business considerations; for example, they may be closed for renovation works, whilst licence transfer procedures are underway, or because staff are on leave, or they may even have ceased operations for any reason. Should an approved restaurant decide to cease operation permanently, withdraw the application for the relevant permit, or apply to revoke the permission, the FEHD respects the operator's commercial decision. Their quotas will be allocated to the applicants on the waiting list in the order determined by the earlier ballot results. Once all procedures have been completed, the details of the newly added food premises will be promptly updated and uploaded to the dedicated webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/dog_restaurants/index.html) to facilitate public search and selection.

Source: AI-found images