Health quarantine authorities from Hong Kong and its neighboring boomtown Shenzhen held a joint exercise Thursday to test their emergency response capabilities in the event of suspected human cases of avian flu at Shenzhen Bay Port.

A total of 80 people from the two cities' relevant government departments joined in the exercise, including those from the Immigration, Customs and Excise, Police and Fire Services Departments, and Radio Television Hong Kong.

Director of Health Dr. PY Lam said the flow of travelers between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has been increasing and the exercise helps to strengthen the two cities' communication and collaboration in public health crises.

The exercise centered on scenarios in which passengers entering the port from Hong Kong or Shenzhen were found to have avian flu symptoms, including fever.

On the Hong Kong side, the Department of Health took the passenger to hospital for treatment and conducted thorough disinfection of the car he arrived in. The Shenzhen health quarantine authority activated its emergency response system.

Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health of Hong Kong said earlier on Wednesday that the risk of human cases of avian influenza in Hong Kong is "low" because of the city's safeguards against the disease after a bird flu outbreak at a duck farm in neighboring Guangdong Province.

However, exports from the facility were suspended for three weeks from Tuesday after a poultry farm supplying Hong Kong was found just within 13 kilometers of the outbreak in Xinhui City of Guangdong.

In addition, excrement samples collected in two live poultry markets in Hong Kong were tested positive for the deadly strain of H5N1 virus early in June, prompting the culling of all live poultry and trading suspension of poultry products in the city.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2008)