Drs David Hui and KS Chan, Co-Chairmen of the Organizing Committee
The Symposium on “Avian Influenza – In Preparation for a Pandemic” was held successfully on April 16, 2005 with attendance by more than 600 participants. This symposium was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians (Hong Kong and Macau Chapter), and sponsored by the Hong Kong Lung Foundation. The symposium kicked off with an opening speech by Dr. York Chow, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Distinguished speakers from Hong Kong and overseas, including representatives from Thailand which has managed 17 human avian flu cases since 2004, gathered in the Hong Kong Convention Centre on the Saturday afternoon. The programme was very rich and consisted of 3 sessions. The first session was on epidemiology and virology of Avian Flu and presented by two local experts Dr. Thomas Tsang and Professor Malik Peiris. The second session was on clinical features and management and was presented by Dr. Tawee Chotpitayasunondh (Thailand), Dr. David Hui, Dr. Wing-hong Seto and Dr. Loretta Yam. The third session was on public health issues and contingency plans. Dr. Supamit Chunsuttiwat (Thailand) shared with the audience the Thailand experience in public health control of H5N1 in poultry and humans, while Dr. Thomas Tsang and Dr. Shao-haei Liu presented the contingency plans on behalf of the Centre for Health Protection and Hospital Authority respectively. Professor Kenneth Tsang discussed the research aspects related to a clinic trial in preparation for avian flu pandemic.
The meeting was concluded with a round table discussion chaired by Dr. Kin-sang Chan and Professor Wah-Kit Lam. Representatives from Thailand (Dr. Tawee Chotipitayasunondh, Dr. Supamit Chunsuttiwat), Malaysia (Professor Chong-kin Liam), Korea (Professor Young-soo Shim), Singapore (Professor Philip Eng) and Hong Kong (Dr. Chung-Ming Chu, Dr David Hui, Dr. Shao-haei Liu, Professor Malik Peiris, Professor Kenneth Tsang, Dr. Thomas Tsang and Dr. Loretta Yam) discussed on the relevant public health and treatment aspects in preparation for the pandemic.
