************************************************************
Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, after attending a public function this afternoon (December 7):
Reporter: (On the second confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong.)
Secretary for Food and Health: We confirmed a second patient with avian influenza A(H7N9) infection yesterday evening. This patient is an elderly man (80-year-old), who has been living in Shenzhen for quite a long time. He attended Tuen Mun Hospital by taking a taxi directly from the border (upon his arrival in Hong Kong). He should not have any history of exposure in Hong Kong, and therefore the Centre for Health Protection classified this second case as an imported case at this stage. There are now a total of 19 contacts of the second patient and they are all isolated in the hospitals. Only one or two of the contacts have mild upper respiratory track symptoms.
Reporter: (On follow-up action to trace the source of infection.)
Secretary for Food and Health: The Centre for Health Protection is maintaining a very close liaison with the relevant authorities on the Mainland. We hope that with such collaboration, it could enable the Mainland authority to isolate and identify the source of infection as soon as possible.
Reporter: (On the condition of the patient of the first confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong.)
Secretary for Food and Health: The condition of the first patient with avian influenza A(H7N9) has been improved. She has been taken off the connection to the ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine. Since she still requires a relatively high concentration of oxygen, she is still being kept in the intensive care unit of the hospital for safety sake.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Saturday, December 7, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:26
NNNN
