Avian Influenza and Hong Kong

Avian influenza and Hong Kong

(a) Any 2 of the following:

 Chicken farms: Vaccinate all live chickens/ a small number of live chickens are used as ‘sentinel chickens’ that are not vaccinated for monitoring avian influenza/ protective nets are set in chicken farms to avoid infected birds to pass diseases to the chickens.

 Live poultry retailers: The ‘no overnight stocking of live poultry at retail outlets’ policy is carried out and all live chickens are slaughtered before 8 pm without leaving any live chickens for the following day.

(b) They restricts the choices of the Hong Kong people on food as they cannot get live chickens. They can only buy frozen chickens if they want to eat the poultry.

‧Live chickens have been used in god worshipping traditionally. People need to use other food as substitutes and it causes inconvenience.

‧As the 21-day ban overlaps with Winter Solstice, people have no live chickens for the festival. Winter Solstice is a Chinese traditional festival in which families get together for an abundant dinner.

‧For example, the measures are appropriate. It is because the live poultry in the index farms might have been infected with H5 virus, and selling them in the market would put the Hong Kong people at risk. As some chickens had died from H5 virus, a 21-day ban could ensure that the government had enough time to sanitize the farms and the live chicken retail stalls for the prevention of an avian influenza outbreak. Meanwhile, the government can carry out an investigation and observation in the 21 days to find out the sources of the virus and loopholes of the preventive measures so as to prevent avian influenza from breaking out and protect citizens’ health.

‧The measures are too stringent. It is because the slaughter of 80,000 live chickens and the 21-day ban dealt a great blow to the poultry trade. Winter Solstice is the time when chickens sell very well and it is important to the business of the poultry trade. Banning the sale of live poultry for 21 days suffered the poultry traders a great loss. Also, the chicken farms had been sanitized after the avian influenza virus was found, and markets have been carrying out the ‘no overnight stocking of live poultry at retail outlets’ policy and cleaning measures. The level of sanitation should be up to standard and the prevention against avian influenza is sufficient. Therefore, citizens’ health would not be threatened.

‧As long as the Hong Kong people do their share and wash their hands thoroughly after contact with live poultry, the chance of the outbreak of avian influenza should be slim.

(d) Free answers. Hong Kong people like using live chickens in their cuisines, and live chicken is an element of the local food culture. In addition, influenced by Chinese traditions, Hong Kong people think that it shows devotion to use live chickens in god worshipping. Also, because live chickens are relatively more expensive food ingredients, people like to eat live chickens during traditional Chinese festivals such as Winter Solstice, lunar new year and other celebratory occasions. Although the traditional custom to eat live chickens is important, but it may put the health of the people at risk if the prevention standard against avian influenza is lowered. Therefore, the government should maintain a balance between people’s health and keeping these traditional customs.

(e)Free answers. For example:

‧Yes. This is because the local chicken farming trade and live chicken retail trade has always been the ‘high risk trades’ for the outbreak of avian influenza. Although the government has implemented strict preventive measures, avian influenza virus can still be found. Eventually, it can only resort to measures like slaughtering chickens and banning the sale of chickens, resulting in huge economic loss towards both the two trades and the society as a whole. Therefore, only by removing these two trades can the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza be minimized so as to protect citizens’ health. Moreover, frozen chicken can be a substitute for live chickens. Citizens’ habit of choosing what kinds of chicken to eat can be changed in the long run.

‧No. This is because removing the local chicken farming trade and live chicken retail trade would affect the livelihood of the people working in these trades. Because many of them have already worked in these trades for many years, it would be very difficult for them to work in other fields. Therefore, they would become unemployed and the problem of unemployment would be worsened. Moreover, from the perspective of traditional culture, removing these two trades would make live chicken unavailable for citizens to eat and worship the gods, therefore changing the traditional diets and customs and preventing the cultural values from passing on to the future generations. In fact, the preventive measures agasinst avian influenza have already greatly reduced the risk of an outbreak. It is not worth it to sacrifice the interest of the people working in related trades and traditional cultural values.

Obesity among primary school students

(a) ‧With reference to Source 1, the 8 weight-losing methods improved the obesity situation of the primary school students who took part in the scheme. The number of obese students dropped from an annual average of 200 to 100.

‧The 8 weight-losing methods also strengthen the immunity of the students, and the percentage of students who were absent because of sickness dropped from 5% to 3%.

(b) ‧The 8 weight-losing methods pinpoint the lifestyle and eating habits of the obese students. In terms of lifestyle, the increase of the number of P.E. lessons and the ‘dynamic break’ give students more opportunities to exercise and burn energy.

‧In terms of eating habit, a stop of the supply of potato chips and other junk food helps students develop a habit to eat less junk food. Eating more bean curd and vegetables helps them get rid of the unhealthy ‘more meat fewer vegetables’ eating habits.

(c)‧From Source 2, it is found that parents arrange for their children to take part in more passive activities such as watching TV and films, doing homework and studying, playing the computer and surfing the Internet, etc. Parents who arrange for their children to exercise are markedly less than those who arrange for their children to do the above activities. Even if parents do not need to arrange for their children to study during holidays, they would not arrange more time for exercise. Instead, they would rather choose to go shopping with their children, the percentage of which nearly doubles those who choose to exercise with their children on holidays.

‧Exercise is an important factor that affects weight. People are more prone to obesity if the amount of exercise is not enough. Being the people who set the timetables of their children, parents should pay more attention to whether their children have enough exercise instead of paying attention to their academic performance alone.

‧Being the closest people to their children, parents should set good examples by exercising with their children during holidays. In the long run, it can help their children develop an exercising habit and control their weight.

(d)‧Obesity has bad influences on health, such as increasing the risk of different diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, or even cancer.

‧Obesity also leaves people a bad impression. People often associate obesity with laziness and ugliness. For students who are developing, obesity can lead to mockery or even ostracism from their classmates. It can hurt their self-confidence and make it difficult for them to make friends and trust people, posing problems to their socialization and hindering their healthy development.

(e) ‧Obesity among students is not only a problem in Hong Kong. Other places in the world, such as Singapore, another Asian city, and the European country Finland, are also confronted with the same situation. This is also related to the fastfood culture and the sedentary lifestyle brought about by globalization.

‧Moreover, under globalization, the interaction between different places is not only restricted to trade and travel. The above case shows that academic and experience exchanges are also fostered by globalization, enabling different places to learn from each other and find out new methods of solving their common problems.

Effective ways of containing infectious diseases

(a)Micro-organism (pathogen): corynebacterium diphtheriae; Host: human (mainly children); Environment: transmitted through contact with patients or carriers of the bacteria.

(b)‧According to Source 1, children are mostly threatened by diphtheria. Diphtheria may cause death to the infected children.

‧The poster in Source 1 urges parents to get their children injected with diphtheria vaccine. This reflects that the disease is a serious threat to children.

‧According to Source 2, there were more than 1,000 diphtheria cases and over 100 death cases in the 1950s. The figure reflectsthat diphtheria was widely spread in Hong Kong at that time.

‧However, the number of infection and death cases of diphtheria dropped drastically at the end of 1960s. There were no cases in 1978, while the most recent case happened in 1982 and no cases followed thereafter. Therefore, it can be seen that diphtheria is no longer a threat to Hong Kong people.

(d)Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧Developing vaccine can help contain infectious diseases. Take the poster in Source 1 as an example, it mentions that ‘injection can protect children’. This means that injection of diphtheriavaccine can prevent children from being infected with diphtheria.

‧The government can promote the use of science and technology to effectively contain infectious diseases. Take the poster in Source 1 as an example, the government urged parents to get their children injected with diphtheria vaccine. This is an example of promoting the use of science and technology with publicity and education.

‧The government can reinforce the measures of keeping the environment clean, in order to eliminate the favorable environment for disease-producing micro-organisms to live, therefore preventing infectious diseases.

(e) Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧It is not enough. Because:

‧Medical level, educational level and opportunities, and equal opportunities are also factors that affect the quality of society. Infectious diseasesonly belong to the category of ‘medical level’. It is not comprehensive enough to measure the quality of society only by considering this factor.

‧According to the definition of World Health Organization, ‘health’ not only refers to‘the absence of diseases’, but also refers to a state of physical, mental and social well-being. Infectious disease is only one of the indexes in measuring health.

‧Other indexes in measuring health include: infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy and the situation about other non-infectious diseases, like obesity.

Food advertisement and health

(a) Coca Cola wants to eliminate unfavorable statements about its products, such as drinking Coca Cola would lead to health problems, in order to guarantee its sales and profit.

(c)The Commission criticized Coca Cola for its misleading content in the advertisement. It criticized thatCoca Cola tried to use the power of celebrities to deny the fact that Coca Cola is related to health problems, so as to mislead consumers that drinking Coca Cola would not lead to any health problem, such as weight gain, obesity and tooth decay.

‧I agree. This is because children are not mature enough to judge whether the food they eat is good for their health. Besides, children are easily influenced by the media. They like imitating the behaviour of public figures. Therefore, food manufacturers should take up moral responsibility for children’s health.

‧I disagree. This is because what people eat is a matter of personal choice. Everyone should be responsible for his/her own health. It is the parents’ responsibility to take care of their children’s diet, not the society’s. Such a policy is not necessary and it may even deprive other consumers (such as adults) of the rights to choose.

(d) Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧With globalization, the modern mode of social development, which emphasizes efficiency, is spread across different countries. Fast food is becoming increasingly popular. It has even become a mainstream diet culture in some countries.

‧With globalization, some transnational corporations selling ‘innutritious food’ (such as Coca Cola) try to open up markets in different countries at the expense of consumers’ health. They make use of mass media to attract consumers in order to gain maximum amount of profit.

(e) Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧I agree. This is because children are not mature enough to control themselves and make proper judgment. They are easily influenced by the media (especially TV). Banning junk food advertisement on TV can greatly reduce the chance of for childrento receive information about junk food. In this way, children would not ask their parents to buy junk food. Parents can also educate their children about the importance of healthy eating habits.

‧I disagree. Legislative is not effective. This is because what people eat is a matter of personal choice and freedom. Even if the government ban junk food from advertising on TV, it is difficult to change the health concepts of consumers (including parents and children). They can still receive related messages from other channels (such as promotion in retail stores). The government should not handle the problem by legislation. Rather, the government should devote itself to educating parents and children about the negative effects of junk food and encourage them to cultivate a healthy eating habit.

Hong Kong people’s exercise habits

(a) Secondary school students do not do enough exercise because:

They spent most time on surfing the Internet, doing homework, and preparing for examinations.

They are lazy and lack the motivation for doing exercise.

Physical education (PE) lesson only occupies 5% of the total class hours. Students do not have PE lessons every day.

(b) Students who lack exercise would have lower satisfaction in their lives. Their psychological quality would also be affected. Lack of exercise would even lead to obesity and other health problems, which would add to society’s medical burden in the long run.

‧The campaign is beneficial to Hong Kong people’s health. Hong Kong people always use the excuse of not having enough time to explain their lack of exercise. MTR is a public transportation that people always use. Its promotion of using staircases more often can remind people to wisely use their time to do exercise. Furthermore, in this way, people do not need to spare extra time in doing exercise. The campaign suits people’s need and can help them cultivate a healthy lifestyle.

‧The campaign would not bring much benefit to Hong Kong people’s health. In general, people should do exercise for at least 20 – 30 minutes to meet the standard. Although people travel by MTR every day, few of them would walk continually for 20 – 30 minutes in MTR stations. Moreover, the campaign cannot induce people to do more exercise.When elevators and escalators are available in the stations, people normally would not choose to walk.

(d) Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧Encourage students to do exercise and set exercise targets together with their friends, parents and teachers.

‧Request schools to reduce the amount of homework, tests and examinations, so that students can have more time todo exercise.

‧Take MTR’s campaign as an example, encourage students to use staircasesin school more often. Encourage them to walk to school instead of taking transportation.

(e) Free answers. Any reasonable answers are acceptable. For example:

‧The government should bear more responsibility. This is because living and working environment, such as health facilities, food safety and employment situation, has great influence on people’s health. These factors are out of control of individuals. The government should be responsible for maintaining the operation of these facilities, providing a healthy environment for people and educating them about how to maintain their health.

‧Individuals should bear more responsibility. This is because lifestyle is a matter of personal choice. People’s eating and exercise habits would directly affect people’s health. People must be responsible for their own health. The government can only provide an environment favourable to people’s health. However, whether people can maintain a healthy lifestyle depends on their own attitudes towards their lives.