The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week warned that each country must come up urgently with a plan to deal with an inevitable flu pandemic - which it estimates will kill millions of people.

According to microbiologists and health officials, Hong Kong is much safer than it was before last year´s Sars outbreak because of vast improvements in surveillance, prevention and control measures.

WHO western Pacific regional director Shigeru Omi warned last week the world is ``closer now to a pandemic than at any time in recent years创.

Omi will speak today at the Foreign Correspondents?Club on the topic ``How safe is Hong Kong?创 and ``Could Sars happen again?创

Sars claimed 299 lives and infected 1,755 people in the territory last year.

The answers, from experts interviewed, is that although Hong Kong is far safer than before Sars, no one should be complacent about any infectious disease. ``There has been significant improvement in the facilities as well as the organisational structure of combating infectious diseases,创 microbiologist Dr Lo Wing-lok said.

Experts said the recent outbreak of a parainfluenza virus type 4 at the Caritas Medical Centre´s developmental disabilities unit demonstrated new measures are effective.

Thirty-four children were infected during the outbreak and an 11-year-old girl in the ward died of a chest complaint on November 9.

While legislators and the media have criticised Hospital Authority officials for their handling of the outbreak, ``when you compare it to what happened at Prince of Wales hospital in 2003, you will note there have been been very significant improvements创, Lo said.

In the early days of Sars, Prince of Wales staff battled alone before a well structured team was formed to help.

``For Caritas Medical Centre, as soon as the Hospital Authority informed the Centre for Health Protection, the centre took the lead,创 Lo said.

Scientists from Hong Kong University moved quickly to identify the mystery virus.

While the handling of the outbreak was ``not perfect, basically, it was rapidly defused创, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, head of the university´s microbiology department said. ``I think the bureau and [Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food] Dr York Chow have something to be proud of.创

Yuen said he tried to be ``picky创 when participating in last week´s emergency exercise, ``Maple创, organised by the Centre for Health Protection, but found little to criticise.

It featured participants from 30 departments and was observed by two international experts, one from the United Kingdom, the other Australia.

``We磖e learning from each other,创 Yuen said. ``Everyone tried to be picky and make sure that the best is being done.创

Each government department also has stockpiles of influenza medication, and each has a contingency plan for pandemic influenza.

Health officials are also on the alert for mosquito-borne diseases. There have been five local cases of the potentially fatal Japanese encephalitis - the most recent that of an Ap Lei Chau man last week - including one fatality last June.

Last year, there was one local case, while in 2002, there were two imported cases.

The disease spreads from pigs to humans via mosquitoes, so people living near pig farms run a greater risk of infection.

After the fifth case was confirmed, York Chow quickly announced all pigs would be immunised against Japanese encephalitis. ``It´s a very dramatic and swift move,创 Yuen said. ``When compared with before Sars, the response is almost immediate.创

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department consultant Dr Ho Yuk-yin said because the disease was rare in the SAR, especially with few local cases in the past decade, ``we are very concerned about the situation创.

``We wonder whether there´s any change in epidemiology, or [if] the disease has been under recognised in Hong Kong,创 he said.

There have been 28 imported cases of dengue fever this year. In 2003, there were 48 imported cases and one local case. Dengue fever remains a potential threat because its vector, the aedes albopictus mosquito lives here, and the flow of people across the SAR´s borders remains great.

There are different ways to combat mosquito-borne diseases, Ho said, including studying mosquito distribution and spraying those areas. Residents should inspect their homes and surroundings each week to remove stagnant water, such as in pot plant bases.

They should also stay away from and not support illegal cultivation sites in rural and urban areas, as these may be high risk zones for mosquitoes, Ho added.

While avian influenza has claimed at least 32 lives in Vietnam and Thailand in recurring outbreaks this year, only one case has been detected locally, and that was in a dead heron.