The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated one of Hong Kong's labs as its Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Saturday.

 

This brings the number of tuberculosis reference labs designated by WHO up to 25 in the world.

 

The lab is scheduled to monitor tuberculosis treatment and control worldwide.

 

The designation reaffirmed the Hong Kong lab's proficiency in performing anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing, said York Chow, the secretary for HKSAR's Health, Welfare and Food Department at a brief ceremony to mark the designation.

 

The Hong Kong lab has supported the control program of tuberculosis and provided quality lab services for the clinical management, surveillance and epidemiological investigations of the disease in the city.

 

The lab is capable of processing 400 to 500 specimens daily. It has provided technical assistance to tuberculosis labs in China's mainland and Laos.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2006)