The Department of Health today (January 16) hosted the 13th Meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) on Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) in Hong Kong to finalise the setting of reference standards for 13 Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) commonly used in Hong Kong.
           
     The HKCMMS project was launched in 2002 to develop standards for commonly used CMM in phases to ensure the safe use and the quality of CMM. The findings of the HKCMMS have contributed to promoting the use of evidence-based, safe and quality Chinese medicines, further protecting public health as well as facilitating the development of Chinese medicine. It also serves as an internationally recognised reference and framework, and has been repeatedly cited by overseas reputable authorities and in international journal articles on research of Chinese medicines.
      
     The meeting brought together more than 20 renowned experts from the Mainland, local and overseas, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the meeting, the IAB reviewed the research work on the 13 CMM for the HKCMMS project.  
      
     Addressing the opening ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, said that, "The HKCMMS project has reached its 22nd anniversary, with publication of the 10th volume of the HKCMMS, establishing reference standards for a total of 330 CMM as of now. The HKCMMS have become well-recognised reference standards in the field of Chinese medicines testing and certification, which pave the way to fostering the high-quality scientific development of Chinese Medicine."
           
     Dr Lam remarked that the establishment of the HKCMMS project heavily relies on the participation of different parties, and he also thanked the four research partners, namely the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, for making efforts in setting standards, as well as the Government Laboratory for conducting inter-laboratory verification studies. Their participation is important in gaining scientific rigour and credibility for the HKCMMS project.
      
     Dr Lam further said that "We are also very grateful to the National Medical Products Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission for their continuous support and valuable advice to the development of the HKCMMS project."
           
     During today's meeting, representatives from the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica of the China Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences introduced the newly published journal "Science of Traditional Chinese Medicine", which will foster the standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine.
      
     Previous publications of the HKCMMS can be accessed at www.cmro.gov.hk/html/eng/useful_information/hkcmms/volumes.html.

    

     The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The 18 Panels of the Legislative Council (LegCo) have elected their Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen for the 2024 session today (January 16). Details are available in the Attachment.
 
     For membership of the Panels, please visit the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk/en/legco-business/committees/panels-and-subcommittees.html).

     A woman who went missing in Sham Shui Po has been located.

     Chan Ching-man, aged 34, went missing after she left her residence on Yee Kuk Street on January 13 morning. Her family made a report to Police on the same day.

     The woman was located in Kwong Wah Hospital today (January 16) morning. She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, at a media session after visiting an educational activity of municipal solid waste charging at Yaumati Kaifong Association School today (January 16):
 
Reporter: Just two English questions, can you just talk about what are the plans for maybe fee exemption or fee reduction, for those lower-income families, or perhaps those with more specific needs for plastic bags, such as those who need to use multiple diapers, are there any plans to reduce their fee, or kind of exempt them from the plastic bag fee? And also how could the situation of the property services company, like using a giant rubbish bag, be reduced, be avoided, like you mentioned that they are just cleaning up the mess for individual households? Is it rather difficult to inspect individual households whether they are using the designated bags?
 
The Secretary for Environment and Ecology: Each individual of the society should change our habit to use the designated bag to dispose of waste. You mentioned the grass-roots families, some of them are very poor, and charging may hit them severely. If you look at the actual amount of fee collected, each family we are talking about spending $1.1 or $1.7 per day. As for per month, we are talking about $30 or $40 in addition. For a normal family, the impact should not be very severe. Nonetheless, for the families taking CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance), the Government will provide a monthly $10 allowance to each CSSA recipient to alleviate their burden due to the waste charging. You have also mentioned the persons with disabilities, whether there will be some form of help. We are discussing with the Social Welfare Department to see whether the Government will offer some assistance in some form. That is something being discussed now.
 
     And you talked about after the implementation of waste charging, for those who live in the multi-storey buildings, it may not be easy to take law enforcement actions. Nonetheless, the law has empowered the law enforcement officers to enter residential buildings to enforce the law. While it may not be very easy, there are some ways to catch those do not use the designated bags. As I have explained, you should look into the risk and also the cost of being caught. If you do not follow the law, do not use a designated bag, what you can save is about $1.1 or $1.7 per day, but in case if you are caught, if you do it every day, sooner or later you will be caught. If you are caught, the penalty is $1,500 each time. If you are caught one time, the penalty will be sufficient for you to buy the designated bags for two or three years. Therefore, you should not take that risk, because it is not wise for you to take that risk.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today (January 16) that it is investigating a confirmed Mpox (also known as Monkeypox) case, and urged the public to heighten vigilance and avoid close physical contact with persons suspected of contracting Mpox. Meanwhile, high-risk target groups are advised to receive Mpox vaccination.

     The case involves a 31-year-old male patient with good past health. He had developed vesicles, fever and lymphadenopathy since December 31 last year, and visited the Yau Ma Tei Male Social Hygiene Clinic of the DH on January 12. He is in stable condition and arrangements have been made for him to be admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital.

     An initial investigation revealed that the patient had visited Taiwan during the incubation period. According to the patient, he only had high-risk exposure in Hong Kong during the incubation period. No epidemiological linkages between this case and other confirmed cases recorded in Hong Kong earlier have been found so far. The CHP is continuing its epidemiological investigations of the case and will report the case to the World Health Organization.

     A total of 55 confirmed Mpox cases have been recorded in Hong Kong so far. The CHP appeals again to high-risk target groups to receive Mpox vaccination with a view to lowering the risk of infection or the possibility of having more severe symptoms after infection. Persons who experience Mpox symptoms (including rashes, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle pain, and severe headaches) or suspect themselves of being infected are advised to seek medical attention and receive treatment at once, and they should not engage in activities with others during which other people may have contact with their skin rash or body fluids. Members of the public should maintain good personal and hand hygiene to prevent virus transmission or infection through contact. They should also avoid close physical contact with persons or animals suspected of infection.

     The CHP had earlier set up an Mpox telephone hotline (2125 2373). The hotline operates from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) from 9am to 5pm, which enables those who suspect or are concerned they have had high-risk contact with confirmed patients, in particular men who have sex with men or those who have sexual practices with strangers, to make enquiries and receive relevant health advice.

     The DH provides vaccination service for high-risk groups of MPox. The following high-risk target groups can receive Mpox vaccination on a voluntary basis:
 

1. Individuals with high-risk sexual practices, e.g. having multiple sexual partners, sex workers, or having a history of sexually transmitted infection within the past 12 months;
2. Healthcare workers responsible for caring of patients with confirmed Mpox;
3. Laboratory personnel working with zoonotic pox viruses; and
4. Animal care personnel with high risk of exposure in case of Mpox occurrence in animals in Hong Kong.

     High-risk target groups can receive Mpox walk-in vaccinations at all of the DH's Social Hygiene Service Clinics (SocHS) (namely Chai Wan SocHS, Wan Chai Male SocHS, Wan Chai Female SocHS, Yau Ma Tei Male SocHS, Yau Ma Tei Female SocHS, Yung Fung Shee SocHS, Fanling SocHS and Tuen Mun SocHS). Further information of the clinics including their locations is available at www.dh.gov.hk/english/tele/tele_chc/tele_chc_shcf.html and www.dh.gov.hk/english/tele/tele_chc/tele_chc_shcm.html.

     Meanwhile, the DH's Kowloon Bay Integrated Treatment Centre and Yau Ma Tei Integrated Treatment Centre, and the Hospital Authority's Special Medical Clinics at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital will also provide Mpox vaccination services for their clients.

     â€‹For more details, please visit the CHP's page on Mpox.