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Transcript of media session by SHWF on pig-borne disease in Sichuan

Following is the transcript (English portion) of a media session by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, at the Legislative Council today (July 28):


Reporter: You said you dispatched a team to Sichuan Province, can you tell me more about this? Do they have a virologist? Are they going to help to investigate? If they do come up with results, do you think the Mainland authorities would allow them to publicise it�K ?


Dr Chow: We actually offered our assistance to the Ministry of Health as early as Monday. Of course at that time, they were very busy organising the whole operation in Sichuan. Yesterday, they invited us to join in the investigation and that's why we have sent three personnel: one is an infectious disease consultant from the Hospital Authority; the other is an epidemiologist from the Department of Health; and the third one is a medical technologist who is experienced in microbiology. So the three of them will assist the Ministry of Health in investigating the disease and understanding the disease. Hopefully they can also let us know what will be the possibility of the outbreak and also any new information regarding the outbreak.


Reporter: Are you sending them because you said that you are concerned about mutation?


Dr Chow: We are not only concerned about the possibility of mutation. We are concerned about, first of all, the scale spread of the outbreak and the wide involvement of patients that were affected. Secondly, the high mortality rate of those patients and thirdly, it seems to be unusual for such a large outbreak scattered in different areas. There is speculation on whether additional factors other than the Streptococcus suis bacteria might be associated with this outbreak. But we have no additional information at this stage.


Reporter: Can I ask one more follow-up question? The latest development is that Sichuan Province is going to suspend the exports of frozen pork to Hong Kong and also six more cities (in Sichuan Province) have reported cases of the infection. Should you listen to the lawmakers and allay public fears and take the initiative to ban the imports of frozen pork (from Sichuan Province)?


Dr Chow: Any banning of the imports must be based on evidence and also good scientific facts and theories. At the moment, there are no such bases to ban the imports according to international regulations and OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) standards. At the moment, we could not conclude it is right for us to ban any imports but at the same time, we have reflected to the Central Government and also to the Ministry of Commerce in China that the Hong Kong people are very afraid to consume pork imported from Sichuan. This has actually influenced them to decide not to export (pork from Sichuan Province) to Hong Kong for the time-being.


Reporter: You keep talking about getting more scientific evidence before the Government thinks of imposing a ban. What scientific evidences are you talking about? Everyone knows it is caused by Streptococcus suis, what sort of other scientific evidences do you need?


Dr Chow: I did not say that we will impose a ban if we have additional information. We will take additional steps if we have additional information. Whether there is a ban or not, it is a different thing. It is primarily based on the findings of Streptococcus suis. There is no reason for us to impose a ban.


Reporter: What is it exactly that will make you impose a ban?


Dr Chow: It depends on what is being found. At the moment, we do not have any plan to impose a ban of imported pork from China. This is the decision of the Sichuan Government that they are not exporting pork to Hong Kong. This is actually based on the sentiment of Hong Kong consumers and also the Hong Kong market.


Reporter: Do you have any advice to the public at the moment? Eat pork or not?


Dr Chow: I do not think that we should be afraid to eat pork at the moment because I think in general, it is still very safe to eat pork. But of course, the handling of pork is very important. I would rather have the public to understand that even local pork has a risk of transmitting similar diseases and there have been cases in the past. It is important to ensure that when you have handled pork, you have to wash your hands. You have to ensure that you do not have any open wounds in your hands when you touch meat and ensure that every time you eat pork, it must be thoroughly cooked.


(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)



Ends/Thursday, July 28, 2005

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