A two-day workshop co-organised by the Health, Welfare & Food Bureau and the World Health Organisation will bring together international experts to share their experience in treating severe acute respiratory syndrome and preventing the spread of infection within hospitals.

Tagged as the first of its kind, the SARS Clinical Management Workshop will open tomorrow at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong and Dr Mark Salter and Dr Mike Ryan from the WHO's Office of Communicable Disease Surveillance will officiate.

More than 120 clinicians and medical experts from the United States, Britain, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Beijing, Guangdong and Hong Kong will take part in the workshop. WHO's representatives from its head office, Western Pacific regional office and China office will also take part.

During the workshop, the overseas delegates will share their experience with local delegates in three main areas:

* the symptoms and progress of SARS;

* treatment methods; and

* infection control, especially in hospitals.

Through the workshop, participants will develop a paper on the clinical management of SARS for presentation to the WHO Global Conference on SARS to be held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on June 17 and 18.

WHO communicable diseases expert to visit HK

The WHO's Executive Director of Communicable Diseases, Dr David Heymann, will visit Hong Kong on June 15 and 16, following the workshop.

Dr Heymann will share his experience on the SARS global outbreak at a welcome reception to be hosted in his honour on June 15.

About 150 guests including legislators, consul generals, chambers of commerce representatives and healthcare workers will attend.

On Sunday, Dr Heymann will see a demonstration of the enhanced computer surveillance system specially developed to enable swift contact tracing of confirmed and suspected SARS patients.

HK healthcare officials to attend WHO conference

He will leave Hong Kong on Monday for the WHO's Global Conference on SARS in Malaysia.

Dr Yeoh will also join the conference, to review the impact of SARS and share with other participating countries the lessons Hong Kong has learned.

The Director-General of WHO, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, will pay a one-day visit to Hong Kong on June 19 following the WHO Global Conference.

"This series of conferences and visits is part of the exercise to get lessons to be learned from the handling of SARS both locally and overseas," Dr Yeoh said.