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A spokesman for the Department of Health (DH) today (March 25) called on members of the public who had travelled from Hong Kong to Beijing in flight CA 112 on March 15 or from Beijing to Hong Kong in flight CA 115 on March 19 to call DH's hotline 2961 8968 for health advice.
The plea follows the detection of nine atypical pneumonia cases among members of a Beijing tour organized by a Hong Kong travel agent.
The tour comprised 35 tour members and a staff member of the travel agent. They left for Beijing in flight CA 112 on March 15 and returned to Hong Kong in flight CA 115 on March 19.
Investigation revealed that a couple who joined the tour, both aged 44, had developed symptoms during their stay in Beijing on March 18. They were admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on the evening of March 22 and are now in stable condition.
On receiving the notification on March 23, DH immediately contacted other members of the tour. Among them three, one man and two women aged between 27 and 50, were also confirmed to have developed atypical pneumonia symptoms. They were admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital and Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for treatment. They are in stable condition.
Six other members of the tour who had been reported to have coughs, three men and three women aged between 32 and 61, were admitted to hospitals for close surveillance earlier. Four of them, comprising two men and two women aged between 32 and 51, were confirmed today to have infected with atypical pneumonia. They are receiving treatment in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The fifth person, a 61-year-old man, is still under observation in Tuen Mun Hospital. The sixth person, a 48-year-old woman, was discharged yesterday.
It is suspected that the couple contracted the disease from a passenger, a man aged 73, who sat close to them on their way to Beijing. The man was feeling unwell after visiting his brother in Ward 8A of Prince of Wales Hospital earlier this month.
DH has informed the Airport Authority, the Civil Aviation Department and the airline concerned. Advice was also given to the airline concerned to disinfect the airplanes.
DH is tracing the crew members and passengers who had taken these two flights, for surveillance purposes.
The spokesman reminded members of the public who have respiratory symptoms including fever, chills, malaise and cough to avoid traveling by plane before recovery.
It is prudent for tourists to adopt the following precautionary measures to prevent atypical pneumonia:
* Build up good body immunity by having a proper diet, regular exercise and adequate rest, reducing stress and avoiding smoking;
* Maintain good personal hygiene, and wash hands after sneezing, coughing or cleaning the nose;
* Maintain good ventilation; avoid visiting crowded places with poor ventilation;
* Do not share towels;
* Consult a doctor promptly if you develop respiratory symptoms and fever.
End/Tuesday, March 25, 2003
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