Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2007

40 Chinese University Bulletin Spring · Summer 2007 CUHK & University of London Jointly Offer Veterinary Public Health Programme T he Chinese University School of Public Health and the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College will lead Hong Kong’s first veterinary public health programme. The programme aims at developing a better understanding of the relationship between animal disease and public health, thereby boosting Hong Kong’s capacity to fight emerging infectious diseases. The courses on animal diseases affecting human is the first of a series of collaborative ventures, which will bring together professionals in veterinary and human medicine. R esearch Centre of Excellence for the Management of Hepatits B T reatment of viral Hepatitis B is hampered by the frequent emergence of drug-resistant viruses after a period of medication. There are many mutations leading to drug resistance in the viral genome, which varies among individuals, especially among those receiving different anti-viral drugs. A highly complex matrix of mutation pattern from worldwide data is now collected in a unique and comprehensive database called SeqHepB . Information in the database will be invaluable in guiding clinicians to choose the best anti-viral drugs for individuals requiring treatment. The Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University and Evivar Medical Ltd. (which owns the SeqHepB database) announced the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre of Excellence for the Management of Hepatitis B (HBV) on 25 January. The centre, located at the Hepatitis Research Laboratory in the Prince of Wales Hospital, can offer viral genome sequencing for patients receiving anti-viral therapy. Comparing the viral genome with information from the SeqHepB database, clinicians in Hong Kong are provided with a complete mutational profile. This enables resistance analysis of their patients’ viral profile, leading to significant improvement in the accuracy and effectiveness of predictive drug selection and better care for Hepatitis B patients.