The government is making it a legal obligation for local doctors to notify the Department of Health of both suspected and confirmed bird flu cases, Secretary for Health and Welfare Yeoh Eng-kiong said yesterday.

The Department of Health will today gazette the H5N1 bird flu as an infectious disease in the First Schedule to the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance, he told a press briefing last night.

The act aims to provide sufficient legal basis in the fight to prevent an outbreak of bird flu virus.

Tens of millions of chickens and ducks throughout Asia have died of the disease or been slaughtered. Hong Kong has so far been spared from the disease.

Yeoh has just returned from a ministerial meeting in Bangkok in which participants discussed how to step up regional co-operation to check the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, a tripartite meeting was held in Guangzhou yesterday, during which senior health officials from Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao decided to set up a joint clinical team to monitor the disease.

The team will help the three sides share medical expertise should human infection from bird flu be reported in any of these three places.

"In the case of any human infection of avian flu, medical experts of the joint clinical team will provide medical expertise to enable front-line medical staff to swiftly diagnose cases and offer treatment," said Ko Wing-man, deputy director in charge of operations and public affairs of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority.

During the meeting, officials from the three sides also agreed to actively report suspected cases of the disease to one another.

Specimens of suspected bird flu cases will be tested at laboratories in all three places, said Leung Pak-yin, deputy director of health, yesterday.

Monitoring of pet birds and migratory birds has also been stepped up.

Acting Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Lau Sin Pang told reporters yesterday that his staff will be sent to the renowned "Bird Street" in Mongkok daily to obtain 20 faeces specimens of pet birds on sale there to conduct tests for bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, the Education and Manpower Bureau issued a reminder yesterday to advise schools to heed guidelines of its bird flu prevention campaign.

Teachers and students were warned against keeping live birds at school, and advised to avoid organizing activities in which contact with birds is likely.

In particular, the guideline stressed that school staff and students should wash hands with liquid soap thoroughly immediately, if they contact bird droppings.

Today, the various government departments will report to the secretary for health, welfare and food at a special meeting to determine whether policy adjustments need to be made to effectively control bird flu.

(HK Edition 01/30/2004 page2)