該來的始終要來,在內地肆虐多時的變種禽流感H7N9終於攻破香港防疫大門,引起全城恐慌。港府提升警戒級別,又禁止三個深圳雞場活雞輸港,問題是患者染病後拖了半個月才確診,反映港府在預防及抗疫方面都大有漏洞,一旦人傳人,後果不堪設想。

雖然當局仍在追蹤感染源頭,由於中招印傭上月中曾到深圳宰殺活雞煮食,回港之後才病發,食物及衞生局局長高永文不排除是傳入個案。港府當務之急除了加強邊境防疫措施,更須防止病毒在社區擴散,及時隔離與患者有密切接觸人士。

內地早在今年三月開始爆發疫症,港府後知後覺,在輿論不斷督促之下,才逐步加強防疫措施,在邊境口岸恢復為入境旅客量度體溫,但仍堅拒提升警戒級別,做法自相矛盾。實際上,禽流感病毒來自活家禽,港府始終拿不出決心全面禁止活雞販賣,就算如何加強街市環境衞生及雞場防疫措施,始終是被動防守,難以全面杜絕禽流感源頭。

前車之鑑,港府當年應對沙士襲港不夠果斷,鑄成大錯,這次變種禽流感襲港,非常時期必須採取強而有力的措施抗擊疫情,防疫再容不下半點鬆懈。

Faced with an outbreak of the mutated avian flu Hong Kong can no longer afford to be passive

If anything can go wrong, it will. The mutated strain of avian flu H7N9 that has been rampant on the Mainland for some time has eventually crashed Hong Kong’s preventive gate, causing panic in the city. The local government has raised its alert level and will prohibit the importation of live chicken from Shenzhen farms for 3 months. However, the problem is that patient zero was only diagnosed with the disease after a procrastination of half a month. This unacceptable delay exposed the huge loopholes in Hong Kong government's preventive and resistant measures. Once human-to-human infection occurs, the consequence will be unimaginable.

The government is still tracing the origin of the infection. In the middle of last month, the patient, an Indonesian domestic helper, traveled to Shenzhen where she killed and ate a live chicken. She fell ill after returning to Hong Kong. Dr. Ko Wing-man, the Secretary for Food and Health, does not rule out the possibility that it is an imported case. It is urgent for the government to beef up epidemic preventive measures at the border and to curb the disease from spreading to the community. The people who have been in close contact with the patient should be isolated in a timely manner.

The epidemic began on the Mainland in March this year. The Hong Kong government has been exceedingly slow in its reaction. Repeated urges in public opinions finally caused it to step up preventive initiatives, but only gradually. Although measuring of travelers’ body temperature at the border control points has resumed, the government has been adamantly refusing to raise the alert level, in blatant violation of its own guidelines. In fact, avian flu comes from live poultry. If the Hong Kong government does not have the determination to impose a total ban on the sale of live chickens, then no matter how much improvement is made to the hygiene of markets and chicken farms, the city is still in passive defense and there is no hope in wiping out the epidemic at its source.

One must learn from past mistakes. As the government was not resolved enough in fighting SARS, the result was disastrous. This attack of the mutated avian flu strain should be treated with special vigilance and strong measures. There is no room for indifference and negligence when it comes to epidemic prevention.

重要生字

mutated avian flu 變種禽流感

if anything can go wrong, it will 該來的始終要來

one must learn from past mistakes 前車之鑑

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