Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau health authorities will strengthen their co-operation in the prevention and control of infectious disease.

Health experts from the three jurisdictions attended the sixth meeting of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Expert Group on the Prevention & Control of Infectious Diseases in Dongguan yesterday and today.

They discussed the recent situation and the future direction of infectious-disease prevention and treatment.

Members also presented their studies on the seasonal flu situation and discussed the recent human avian flu cases in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

They signed an agreement of co-operation on contingency measures during a public-health emergency and finalised the membership list of an expert team on the prevention and treatment of human avian flu.

Consensus reached in many areas

They also reached consensus on:

* strengthening the response system;

* developing more cooperation in the preparedness for influenza;

* the need for continuous improvement of the notification mechanism on infectious diseases;

* boosting mutual visits and training of healthcare professionals;

*co-operation in scientific researches.