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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) spokesperson made the following announcement today (February 11) regarding patient cases of mucormycosis:
Mucormycosis is a rare disease due to Murorales. These fungal spores are ubiquitously found in environment, food and wooden material.
Most patients who developed this disease are very immunosuppressed due to leukaemia/lymphoma and the chemotherapy.
Most such cases are caused by inhalation or inoculation of the spores into sinus, lung, skin or tongue which may spread to their parts of the body such as the brain. The disease has a very high fatality of over 50% despite treatment. Instestinal mucormycosis are very rare.
In QMH since the period 2004, only four cases of mucorales are cultured from respiratory and skin specimens. None of these positives are found in intestinal tissue or stool.
In November 2008, a six years old boy on treatment for acute lymphocytic leukaemia died of ileocecal mucormycosis 23 days after onset of abdominal distension.
In January 2009, another 11 years old boy on treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia developed right lower abdominal pain was found to have gangrenous appendicitis due to mucormycosis.
This morning, a third male patient, aged 38, on treatment for acute lymphocytic leukaemia has acute gangrenous appendicitis due to mucormycosis.
Enhancement of culture testing in this group of patients showed three additional patients in our bone marrow transplant units who has stool positive for this fungus. Retrospective review of patients' record showed another 57 years old man who died from perforation of intestinal lymphoma also had intestinal mucormycosis in October 2008.
QMH now stopped admissions to the bone marrow transplant unit till QMH have enough supply of the antifungal drug active against mucorales and gave antifungal treatment for all possible cases.
All patients are advised to eat and drink only boiled food items. All non-sterile wooden tongue depressors and chopsticks are stopped. Two strains of mucorales can be grown from pre-packed food items which are still be identified. All strains can be killed at 80 degree Celsius after one minute but it can grow at 50 degree Celsius.
The Centre for Health Protection and Hospital Authority Head Office are informed.
Ends/Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 22:03
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