Introduction

This chapter briefly examines:

• the weaknesses in the health care systems exposed by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Hong Kong,

• the sequelae of the disease.

Audits

Two audit committees, set up by the Hong Kong Government and Hospital Authority respectively, reviewed the response of the health systems to the SARS epidemic. The findings of both audits were similar. The main criticism were that:

1. Government agencies were not prepared for an outbreak of such magnitude. Procedural mechanisms were not in place beforehand so agencies were always trying to catch up.

2. Information about an unusual viral infection in early February 2003 only had the status of rumour and early ‘soft’ evidence was neglected.

3. Not enough was done early in the epidemic to alert other hospitals and health care workers of potential risks. And when information was disseminated it was not very clearly communicated.

The following recommendations were made:

1. Effective surveillance, data collection and sharing

2. High level of awareness and implementation of effective infection control measures.

3. Rapid and comprehensive contact tracing.

4. Timely declaration and enforcement of isolation and quarantine measures.

Both the audits were comprehensive, clearly identified the deficiencies and made suitable recommen dations for future improvement.