Quarantine for 17 after HK bird flu confirmed
Print Edition
Hong Kong will quarantine 17 people after the city confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, officials said yesterday.
The 17 are mostly relatives of the employer of a 36-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, who is in critical condition in a Hong Kong hospital after a visit to China’s mainland.
They were all taken to hospital for observation.
“If those who had been in close contact don’t have symptoms, we will later arrange for them to enter quarantine facilities,” health chief Ko Wing-man told a press conference.
“Tonight, five people who were in close contact and do not show signs of infection will enter the quarantine,” Ko said, adding that they will be held until 10 days after their last contact with the carrier.
A government statement later said all 17 people had tested negative for the virus, but would be sent to a holiday village in the seaside town of Sai Kung “for medical surveillance.”
The Indonesian domestic helper had a history of traveling to the mainland city of Shenzhen, just across the border with Hong Kong and coming into contact with live poultry, Ko said on Monday.
“She has a history of traveling to Shenzhen, buying a chicken, slaughtering and eating the chicken,” Ko said.
She was admitted to hospital last Wednesday after developing a cough and shortness of breath.
The city has suspended imports of live poultry from Shenzhen and escalated its flu contingency plan to “serious.”
“At this point, we reckon it could be an imported case, but the government will continue to follow this up with full effort,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said.
In all, 137 human cases of H7N9 have been reported in the mainland since February with 45 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
In April, Taiwan reported its first case, a 53-year-old man who had been working in eastern China.
The man was eventually discharged but the case prompted island authorities to begin research into a vaccine they hope to roll out by late 2014.
In August, Chinese scientists reported the first likely case of direct person-to-person transmission of H7N9. But they stressed it was still difficult for the virus to spread between humans.
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