Two herbalist doctors from the Chinese mainland are now in Hong Kong providing assistance on cure measures against SARS, spokesman for the Hospital Authority said Sunday.

Two doctors from neighboring Guangdong province have joined cure practice on SARS and obtained special experience in improving treatment via traditional Chinese medicine.

They will attend seminars here on treatment, and later take part in the treatment in local hospitals, the spokesman said.

Using Chinese medicines against SARS is right now a hot topic in Hong Kong. Not all the herbal medicines used in the mainland can be used here because of certain regulations.

In light of the reports of effective treatment of herbal medicines, there are suggestions that Hong Kong should borrow mainland experiences of using herbal medicines. The Hospital Authority decided last week to hand out instant Chinese medicine crystal powder to the public hospitals' front-line medical staff to enable them to guard against the SARS virus.

Officials for the Authority said mainland herbalists' coming to Hong Kong is a "medical breakthrough," which will enhance the cooperation in contain the virus.

The two herbalist doctors plan to stay for several weeks here.

(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2003)