|
Virus findings heartening, says Hong Kong’s Health Secretary
Press Release - March 19, 2003
The Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong today (March 19) congratulated researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) after they reported isolating the virus believed to cause the recent cases of atypical pneumonia.
Speaking at a press conference, he said it was "very heartening" that CUHK microbiologists working with Prince of Wales Hospital staff had identified it as a member of the paramyxoviradae family of viruses that includes measles and mumps.
Reports from Germany and Taiwan appeared to collaborate this, he said, World Health Organisation (WHO) would need to co-ordinate efforts to verify and confirm the findings and more research would be necessary to understand the unusual behaviour of the virus.
Dr Yeoh said it appeared to be a variant form of a virus that commonly causes respiratory infection in children, however most of the cases reported affected adults.
He said three people were confirmed to have died from the virus in Hong Kong, while it may have been associated in the deaths of another two patients here who were already suffering from serious illnesses.
Dr Yeoh said Hong Kong had a total of 145 atypical pneumonia patients today, compared with 111 the previous day (March 18).
Another five people were being kept under observation, bringing the total number of confirmed and suspected cases to 150, compared with 123 the previous day.
The confirmed fatal cases were a medical practitioner who came from Guangdong, an American-Chinese businessman who had also passed through Southern China and Vietnam, and a man who was the original "index case" at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.
The other two were already very sick with serious liver and heart illnesses and the pneumonia may have added to their problems.
Dr Yeoh said the breakdown of confirmed and suspected cases was:
A total of 75 health care workers had been admitted, 70 with pneumonia symptoms, compared with 67 in total and 55 confirmed the previous day;
The number of confirmed medical students with pneumonia symptoms remained at 17;
Relatives and other people with close contacts to patients had risen to 58, up 19 from the 39 "close contacts" on Tuesday.
For updated information and latest news on respiratory tract infections, please visit the special home page on the subject at www.info.gov.hk/info/infection-e.htm, and the HKSAR Department of Health website at www.info.gov.hk/dh/ap.htm as well as the e-bulletin at www.news.gov.hk/en/index.shtml.
|
