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The Hong Kong expert team who took part in the investigations of the Sichuan outbreak considered the clinical presentation of the cases was compatible with Streptococcus suis infection in view of the information they collected.

This was revealed by the Director of Health, Dr Lam Ping-yan, during a meet-the-media session today (August 5) with the four members of the Hong Kong expert team.

"During their stay in Sichuan Province in the past week, the expert team had gained direct knowledge on the outbreak. Apart from working with local medical and health workers, the team visited three hospitals and spoke with the doctors treating patients with Streptococcus suis. Information including clinical management and treatment procedures was obtained," Dr Lam said.

"The experts met with patients and examined them with the local doctors. They also joined the Mainland counterparts in working meetings and discussion.

"The expert team visited rural areas to see the living conditions and working environment of the local people. They took part in the epidemiological investigation of a new case and gained knowledge on the operation of field investigation in the Mainland. Through the process, the team's understanding of the Sichuan outbreak was enhanced," he said.  

Dr Lam quoted the expert team as saying that most patients they met in Sichuan developed symptoms after having close contact with pigs. There was no evidence to suggest human-to-human transmission.  

"As learnt from local frontline healthcare workers and from their own visits to the patients and observation of clinical signs, the experts learnt that early use of appropriate antibiotics can effectively treat the disease," Dr Lam said.

The expert team saw for themselves the operation of laboratory works in Sichuan and learnt that the standard of the laboratory facilities is of good quality.

Before returning to Hong Kong, the team visited the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing to share observations and views. The team also thanked the Central Government and the relevant government departments in Sichuan for providing assistance, facilitation and care.

"We also thanked the MOH for supplying daily updates of the situation in Sichuan to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong so that the public can be informed of the latest situation," Dr Lam said.

He stressed that Hong Kong experts were members of the investigation team on the Mainland. As investigations are still continuing, the team at this stage can only provide an account of what they saw and heard in Sichuan. Their account, however, should not be taken as the conclusion of the Mainland investigations.

"According to the information provided by the MOH, there was no new case in Ziyang in Sichuan for seven consecutive days so far. As for Neijiang, there was no new case for four consecutive days.  Mainland experts are working hard and have implemented effective preventive measures to control the outbreak. They are also putting in efforts to treat the patients and reduce the mortality rate," Dr Lam said.

"We are well aware of the concerns of the general public over the Sichuan outbreak. All the evidence collected at this stage showed that the infections were caused by Streptococcus suis.  

"The Government has implemented a package of measures to protect public health. We will continue to maintain close communication daily with the relevant mainland departments and will monitor the situation in Sichuan. If necessary, we will discuss with the MOH on the need for sending expert teams again to the Mainland to assist in investigation.

Members of the Hong Kong expert team are Specialist in Public Health of CHP, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan; Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases of the Hospital Authority, Dr Lai Sik-to; Honorary Consultant of the Department of Health, Dr Lee Shui-Shan; and Scientific Officer of the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch of CHP, Mr Cheung Tze-leung. The team's objective is to understand the outbreak from the perspectives of infectious disease epidemiology, clinical management and microbiological examination.

Ends/Friday, August 5, 2005

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