Avian influenza – situation in China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong, SAR)

19 November 2010 -- The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH), Hong Kong, China, has reported a new confirmed human case of H5N1 infection on 17 Nov 2010. The case is a 59-year-old female. She had onset of symptoms on 2 November and was admitted to hospital on 14 November. She was diagnosed to have pneumonia and is now in a critical condition.
The case had a history of travel to Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. She reported no history of contact with live birds and poultry in the days before showing symptoms. Her close contacts are under surveillance and are isolated. All remain asymptomatic to date. Nasopharyngeal aspirates of all close contacts were negative for H5. Investigations into the source of her infection are ongoing. Evidence so far indicates a sporadic case of human influenza A(H5N1) infection without secondary spread.
So far, a total of 21 human cases of influenza A (H5N1) infection were recorded in Hong Kong SAR China, including 18 cases in 1997, two cases in 2003 and the current case in 2010.