Asia Remains on Alert as HK First Confirmed A/H1N1 Flu Patient Discharged from Hospital

    The first confirmed influenza A/H1N1 patient in Hong kong was discharged from hospital on Friday while participants of the ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers Special Meeting on Influenza A/H1N1 called for cooperation among national health authorities to deal with new strain flu.

    The 25-year-old Mexican man involved in the first confirmed influenza H1N1 case in Hong Kong was discharged from a local hospital on Friday evening as a quarantine on the Metropark Hotel in Wanchai, Hong Kong was lifted by the Hong Kong health authorities.

    Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said Friday as Hong Kong reported no new case of influenza A/H1N1 on seven consecutive days, the city has cleared the first round in the battle of epidemic control.

    However, since Hong Kong is an international metropolis with high turnover of travelers from different countries and regions every day, Chow said more cases might arise in future and the city should continue to stay vigilant.

    While inspecting the Metropark Hotel where a total of 286 people were held under quarantine since May 1 after the Mexican was confirmed to have influenza A/H1N1, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said the threat of the influenza A/H1N1 to Hong Kong has not gone and the battle is far from over and the government will continue to monitor the situation.

    Hong Kong Controller of Center for Health Protection Thomas Tsang said at the daily briefing that in the past 24 hours, a total of eight people had been tested for the new flu, adding that three of them were negative to the virus while results of the restare pending.

    A total of 54 people has been tested for the new strain and only one case showed positive, he said.

    On Friday, the ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers Special Meeting on Influenza A/H1N1 concluded with a joint statement vowing to establish supplies and information sharing system as well as to set up hotlines among national health authorities.

    The two-day meeting, held on Thursday and Friday with an aim to

    find more efficient and collaborative ways to prevent and combat the possible pandemic of A/H1N1 flu in the region, was attended by health ministers and senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and the Plus Three countries -- China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

    The joint statement confirms the commitments of ASEAN Plus Three states, including continuously implementing of the national pandemic preparedness plans, intensifying the performance of surveillance and response system, as well as ensuring effective intersect oral communication.

    The countries also agreed to establish system for sharing of essential supplies among national stockpiles in case of emergency needs and to ensure prompt sharing of data and information on epidemic situation through hotlines among national health authorities.

    The transfer of the technology for the production of antiviral medicine and flu vaccines will be encouraged and the regional collaborative researches on influenza will be strengthened, said the statement.

    At the opening address at the Friday session, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva noted the need of cooperation in new aspects in face of the flu threat.

    "To mitigate the effects of this influenza pandemic, we cannot rely merely on basic measures...We need cooperation in other new aspects...Such aspects are, for example, the development and production of vaccines as well as anti-viral drugs, a well as expansion and sharing of ASEAN Plus Three and national stockpiles of medical supplies," said Abhisit.

    China's Health Minister Chen Zhu proposed at the meeting to convene an international scientific conference on Influenza A/H1N1in the nearest possible date in China, as he and his counterparts from other ASEAN Plus Three countries meet in Bangkok in the face of the threat of the new flu virus.

    China will work closely with and provide necessary technical assistance to ASEAN countries on flu-fighting, the minister said, adding that one possible area for collaboration is capacity building, another being scientific research.

    "If needed, China is willing to organize training courses for rapid diagnostic technology and provide reagents to ASEAN countries," Chen said.