Hong Kong health officials are urgently seeking information about an outbreak of meningitis in China that has infected more than 250 people and killed 16.

China’s Health Ministry issued an emergency notice on Monday confirming media reports that the deadly disease had been spreading for weeks.

But despite pledges by Beijing to improve communication after it was accused of covering up an outbreak of SARS in 2003, Hong Kong has not been officially informed.

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) spread from southern China to Hong Kong and then rapidly around the world, killing some 800 people.

Many health experts fear the next pandemic could easily originate in China and quickly spread around the globe unless Beijing notifies other countries at an early stage.

“There are cases now in China, but we are trying to get more information and an idea of how extensive the problem is,” a Hong Kong health department spokesman said on Tuesday.

“We need more details like if the situation is worse than previous years and where the outbreak is,” he said.

However, a World Health Organisation spokesman said there was nothing extraordinary about the meningitis outbreak in China.

“This is something that happens every year in China, this is not something out of the ordinary. And the number of cases this year seems to be a little bit higher than they were at this time last year,” said Roy Wadia, WHO spokesman in Beijing.

“But as to why that is, the system itself in terms of surveillance might have improved and so they might be actually finding more cases than they would normally.”

Asked if there was any chance there had been a cover-up, he said: “I think based on the stories we’ve been seeing for the last several days in Xinhua and the China Daily and other Chinese outlets, they seem to be pretty forthcoming. They’ve been posting this at this (health ministry) Web site as well.”

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but communication between the two has often been patchy, due in part to China’s traditional secretiveness and concerns about open interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.

At the handover, Beijing promised Hong Kong a high degree of freedom for 50 years, although it has shown few qualms about quashing growing pro-democracy demands in the territory.

Meningitis infects the lining of the brain and spinal cord and causes high fever, confusion and headaches.

This is the second time in as many weeks that mainland authorities have failed to inform Hong Kong about a potential health threat.

Hong Kong pest control workers are battling South American red fire ants, whose bite can kill humans, after they were found in parks and open urban areas in the city of 7 million people.

The ants were found recently in China’s southern Guangdong province adjoining Hong Kong, but only last weekend did the authorities there tell Hong Kong about the invaders.