2012-06-02 23:14:03
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Hong Kong health
authority said on Saturday that a two-year-old boy has been confirmed with H5N1
Influenza A and urged the public not to panic.
The
Center for Health Protection said the boy's condition has changed from stable to
serious after testing positive for the deadly avian influenza, while his
parents' tests for influenza were negative.
"The boy's
parents are all along asymptomatic, which means that the chance of a
human-to-human transmission is slim," said a spokesman of the center in a
statement.
The boy was put
to intensive care treatment while his parents were in quarantine in the same
hospital.
A native of
China's southern city of Guangzhou, the boy went to Hong Kong with his family on
May 26 to seek medical treatment after running a fever for
weeks.
After reporting
the influenza case, the city government raised its bird flu alert level to
"serious" and tightened control on live chickens imports, and strengthened
supervision of local farms and markets.
The
authority has intensified disease monitoring and infection control in public
hospitals. Hospital staff will keep close watch over visiting patients and
enforce triage assessment and appropriate segregation at waiting areas in line
with clinical guidelines.
Besides,
all 30 local chicken farms will be inspected within two days to ensure that
their chickens are healthy and biosecurity and health measures are followed
strictly.
The Center for
Food Safety has contacted with its mainland counterparts in search of the
infection source. Once the source is located, an area within 13 km radius will
be declared an import control zone. Imports of live poultry and poultry products
will be suspended for 21 days in the zone.
"At the moment,
it is an isolated case. We feel that there is no need for panic among Hong Kong
citizens," said York Chow, the Secretary for Food and Health of the city
government, while addressing media earlier in the day
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1 comment:
Lucky for the kid he's still alive and his family isn't infected. There has been reports that a boy in New Orleans died of E.coli. Parents should really see through it that their child don't take for granted personal hygiene and food safety habits like washing their hands, not touching their face, etc.
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