Friendly exchange: Public health professionals from the Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program receive a briefing from Centre for Health Protection staff.

A team of 12 public health professionals from the Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program have just completed a one-week field epidemiological training in the Centre for Health Protection.

Arrangements have been made for two local field epidemiology officials to visit the Guangdong Centre for Disease Control & Prevention under the Guangdong Provincial Department of Health to gain experience in prevention and control of infectious diseases.

This flows from an agreement made in the fourth tripartite meeting of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Expert Group on the Prevention & Control of Infectious Diseases held last year to strengthen the collaboration and expertise exchange among public health professionals of the three places.

CHP Controller Dr Leung Pak-yin said under the threat of a global influenza pandemic, the launching of training programmes among public health professionals in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau is appropriate and essential. The seven-day training course enabled the Guangdong officials to familiarise themselves with the field epidemiological investigation methods and operations in Hong Kong, he added.

The team, led by Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program Office Deputy Director Dr Li Jian, and Dr Li Ling-hu, attached to the CHP's Surveillance & Epidemiology Branch during their stay got to know more about the centre's field epidemiological investigation methods, the operation of the surveillance system on infectious diseases, as well as infectious disease prevention and emergency preparedness.

The team also visited CHP's Infection Control & Emergency Response & Information Branches to gain better understanding of measures to be taken in case of infectious disease outbreaks in hospitals or during an influenza pandemic.