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The Centre for Health protection (CHP) of the Department of Health had a busy year in safeguarding Hong Kong from infectious diseases such as avian flu, a major international concern in 2005.
Reviewing the infectious disease situation in Hong Kong last year, the Consultant (Community Medicine) of the CHP, Dr Thomas Tsang, said today (January 24) the strenuous efforts that had kept Hong Kong free of bird flu would be continued and stepped up when necessary.
"Preventive measures under the Alert-level of the Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan have been put in place since January, 2005, and additional measures would be implemented in the event of importation of avian flu cases or efficient human-to-human transmission of the disease," Dr Tsang said.
Dr Tsang said the CHP would continue to maintain close liaison with the World Health Organisation and the Mainland authority to obtain the latest information about the global and regional situation.
With many people travelling overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday, Dr Tsang called on people who planned to go to areas with avian flu cases to be extra vigilant and observe good personal hygiene to prevent infection.
"Avoidance of contact with birds and poultry greatly reduces the risk," he said.
As regards seasonal influenza, Dr Tsang remarked that the peak season was about to arrive in Hong Kong.
"According to historical trend, the peak season for influenza is expected to come in February or March. People at high risk who have not received influenza vaccinations should get vaccinated as soon as possible."
He said more than 240,000 people had already been covered by the Government's influenza vaccination programme, compared with 200,000 people in 2004. This represented an increase of about 20% over 2004.
"To prevent infection, people should wash hands frequently, cover their noses and mouths with tissue paper when coughing and sneezing, refrain from going to work or school, and wear a facemask if they experience respiratory symptoms," Dr Tsang said.
Reviewing other notable infectious diseases in 2005, Dr Tsang said there were 13 local cases of Streptococcus suis infection including two fatal cases reported to the CHP in 2005. The outbreak of Streptococcus suis in Sichuan Province last year drew public attention to the threat of the disease to the community.
Given public concern over Streptococcus suis and to better understand the epidemiology of local cases, CHP made Streptococcus suis a statutorily notifiable disease in August, making it the 31st notifiable infectious disease under the First Schedule to the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance.
Dr Tsang also commented on the cluster of typhoid fever cases in Yuen Long during November and December.
"Of the 19 cases reported to the CHP since November 25, 14 had the same DNA fingerprints and 12 of the patients live in Yuen Long, indicating that these cases might have the same origin of infection.
"Investigations have ruled out a food premises as the common source of infection for all cases. The cases probably arose from a distributed vehicle contaminated with the typhoid bacteria. Relevant food handlers identified during investigations have been actively screened for typhoid carriers. More than 700 samples were collected for laboratory tests, the majority of which yielded negative results so far."
"Various control measures were implemented, including the dissemination of health messages to the public through different channels and the stringent enforcement actions by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. While the last case had onset on January 4, 2006, we need to assess the situation after Lunar New Year to determine whether or not the cluster is coming to an end," Dr Tsang said.
Other infectious diseases which recorded high activity in 2005 included food poisoning, typhus, and Legionnaires' Disease.
There were 975 cases of food poisoning affecting 3,495 people in the year, while the corresponding figures for 2004 were 821 cases affecting 3,132 people.
"Most of these cases occurred in the summer months between May and September. Notable outbreaks have included those resulting from shellfish poisoning, ciguatera fish poisoning, puffer fish poisoning, salmonella and bacillary dysentery," Dr Tsang said.
The year also marked the highest number of Legionnaires' Disease since 1995. A total of 11 sporadic cases, including one fatal case, were reported in 2005, while there were only one to four cases per year between 1995 and 2004.
"All patients in 2005 were male, aged between 38 and 85, and all of them were either chronic smokers or ex-smokers," Dr Tsang said.
Dr Tsang pointed out that scrub typhus was also on the rise in the year. There were 29 cases of scrub typhus in 2005 compared with 18 in 2004, an increase of 140%. Investigations revealed that the majority of the cases visited areas with vegetation during incubation period.
Dr Tsang concluded that the observance of good personal, food and environmental hygiene was always the key to protecting oneself against infectious diseases.
Ends/Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:40
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