Lai, who is also an official with the city's inspection and quarantine bureau, suggested that besides quick tests for diseases, the relevant government agencies should work out detailed regulations, policies and measures to solve conflicts between the demands of fast entry and the requirements of inspection and quarantine.

In order to tackle these problems, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Beijing Municipal Government, and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on inspection and quarantine last month.

BOCOG President Liu Qi said at the signing ceremony that involved parties will study and formulate quarantine policies, as well as examine methods and supervision measures to provide secure and comprehensive services for Olympic personnel.

According to the Beijing Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, which is directly affiliated to AQSIQ, the bureau plans to build an animal quarantine centre and a healthcare centre for accompanying animals from foreign countries.

Beijing now has a small animal quarantine centre that is located in Shunyi District, but it can hardly meet the demands of the Olympics, said Dong Jingmin. He said the location of the new animal quarantine centre has not yet been decided, but the candidates include areas in Shunyi, Tongzhou and Pinggu districts.

Apart from Beijing, inspection and quarantine officers in Hong Kong, where the equestrian events will be held in 2008, are also racing to ensure the safe entry-exit of 300-plus horses that will take part in the Olympics and the Paralympics.

The horses, coming from more than 40 countries and regions, are subject to one-week quarantine in six quarantine centres located in North America, Europe and Oceania, according to York Chow, secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Experts will check body temperature and take blood and urine checkups to make sure the horses are not infected by any communicable or epidemic diseases, said Chow in an interview posted on the official website of BOCOG.

After entering Hong Kong, the horses will again go through a 10-day quarantine to avoid contact with local horses and infection. The Hong Kong authorities will provide each horse with a single shed. There are five stables, each containing more than 50 such sheds.

Medical services will be on hand for each stable and serious cases can be treated at a Hong Kong horse hospital. Chow expected the medical team to be composed of up to 30 specialists, including those from the mainland. The participating teams may bring their own veterinarians, who will be issued provisional license.

As far as the horses' forage is concerned, it can be brought in from outside, with the condition that certificates of inspection, quarantine and health are provided by the authorities governing the forage's source.

"Hong Kong has high-level veterinarian services, however, to take care of 300 horses is a real challenge," Chow said.