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Prevention of Avian Influenza
Possible
outbreak of avian flu is the most concerning issue attracting
people's attention. The Government released an information
paper, Emergency Preparedness for Influenza Pandemic in
Hong Kong on 5 Nov, and announced that the Alert Level
Response has been activated.
Aware of
personal and environmental hygiene and building good body
resistance are the best way to prevent such high risk epidemic
diseases. This can be achieved through the following measures:
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keep
hands clean, wash hands frequently with liquid soap,
especially before eating and touching nose, mouth and eyes.
Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper when coughing or
sneezing. Dispose the soiled tissues properly (into a bin
with lid), then wash hands thoroughly.
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balanced
diet, regular exercise, adequate rest, reducing stress and
no smoking. If you have a 'flu', better avoid crowded public
places where the ventilation is not good.
Other than
preparing ourselves from the public health perspective, we
should also think about the ways to minimize social and
economic loss if outbreak of bird flu appends in Hong Kong. In
my speech on policy address debate and my article published last Friday, I urged
the government to facilitate the public and private sector to
formulate guidelines and emergency plans for maintaining their
services and business continuity via using IT, such as
e-business, home office and e-learning. If you have any
comments or views, please drop me a line. (cksin@sinchungkai.org.hk)
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There are
some good resources on the Internet where you can get factual
information about the bird flu:
HKSAR
Government website on Prevention of Avian Influenza:
http://www.info.gov.hk/info/flu/eng/index.htm
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
The World
Health Organization:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/
The
National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases:
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
CK
Sin
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