Health | Experts declare ‘imperative need’ for infectious diseases building

The Health Bureau presented a leaflet with technical details on the planned building

There is an imperative need for a new infectious diseases facility,” according to a group of experts who were invited by the Health Bureau (SSM) to present opinions at a seminar on the preparation and practice for preventing infectious diseases. The seminar was held on Friday at the Tourism Activities Centre.
The event, attended by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam, gathered three experts from mainland China – Zhao Chi Hong, Xie Jing Xin and Jiang Rong Meng – to hear their opinions. Coming from Beijing and Jiangsu, they came to enhance the knowledge of local health professionals regarding the importance of the prevention and control of infectious diseases, as well as the methods for preventing and controlling these diseases, especially those of the respiratory tract.
Besides the health services professionals, a very large number lawmakers were also in the audience.
In the introductory speech, SSM director Lei Chin Ion focused mostly on the need to build a new facility that has been “in [the] project [phase] for more than 10 years” and should not be “deferred” any longer.
SSM’s head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Macau, Lam Chong, clarified the territory’s concerns regarding the preparation and experience in terms of response to these diseases. Dr Lam highlighted the successful implementation of the vaccination programs that, he said, “allowed the control of several infectious diseases from 1998 to 2014 and that awarded the Macau Health Service the recognition of a ‘good level’ of control by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2008.”
The same official also mentioned that the local authorities’ focus on the prevention and control of these kinds of diseases was clearly apparent when in 2003 the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) hit the neighboring regions, especially Hong Kong, “causing around 300 deaths [there] while Macau only registered one case and [that] was an imported one.”
Lam recalled that the regulations set by the government requiring a “mandatory report from health services and schools of case of infectious diseases” also helped to keep Macau and its population safe.
On the experts’ side, Zhao Chi Hong, deputy-chief of the Laboratorial Management of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of China, painted a “very serious” and “potentially catastrophic” situation, citing Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus (MERS) and Avian Flu as the “greatest threats” of our time.
To those diseases, Zhao also added the “serious possibility” of “new resistant forms of those diseases appearing” as well as forms of “bioterrorism” rising.
“To fight all these threats and protect a vulnerable population, we must be able to isolate those people who are infected” pointing the way to solve the problem by “creating special facilities as well as administering safe vaccines.”
Xie Jing Xin, senior engineer of the Institute of Occupational Health of the Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, oriented his technical assessment by electing “air quality” as the main issue to be addressed since “it is through the air that most of the diseases are transmitted.”
Xie explained in detail the necessary technical specifications for buildings to support effective treatments made in isolation.
Jiang Rong Meng, Department Chief of Beijing’s Ditan Hospital, focused his presentation on “preventive measures” and on the attitude of the medical staff attending the patients, also highlighting the need for a “clean and monitored environment,” which had been mentioned before by Xie. He also stated that “for security reasons, an infectious disease building should have no more than three floors,” giving the example of the facility at Ditan Hospital in Beijing.
Philip Chou, Coordinator of the Organizing Cabinet for the Construction of the SSM New Facilities, reviewed the plans for SSM’s new facilities. The official mentioned that the isolation infirmary of the public hospital does not comply fully with the regulations, being a facility that was transformed from a general infirmary into an isolation unit.
Regarding the central location for the contested infectious diseases facility, Chou argued that there are two main factors to build downtown, namely the “need to be close to the main hospital unit, as it needs support from other services” and “being close to the population, as the majority of the population lives on the peninsula.”
He added that the location chosen will allow “suspected cases to be treated immediately [in isolation],” contributing to reducing the risk of further contamination.
During the Q&A session that followed the lectures, the secretary-general of Caritas Macau, Paul Pun, inquired about the staff training. Alexis Tam clarified that “several SSM staff have been undergoing training in mainland China and at the WHO to be prepared to deal with the needs.”
Tam also took the opportunity to advise that the “[Pearl River] Delta region is one of the regions where there is a higher incidence of these diseases,” concluding by saying that besides the damage to health and the risks to the population, there is also an economic risk attached. He recalled a figure presented earlier where it was stated that one case reported in China carried a direct loss of about RMB8 million.

building to start in q3 this year

“I think after the summer and before the end of this year, it will be possible [to start the construction of the building for infectious diseases],” said Alexis Tam on the sidelines of the seminar on the preparation and practice for preventing infectious diseases. “We meet all the conditions to move forward with this project. The majority of the population is with us,” the secretary concluded.