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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (August 6) investigating a local confirmed case of Japanese encephalitis (JE), and hence urged the public to take precautions against mosquito-transmitted diseases.
The male patient, aged 36, with good past health, developed headache on July 28 and attended the Accident & Emergency Department (AED) of Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) on July 30. He was noted to have confused speech and seizures on August 1 and was taken to the AED of TMH again. He was admitted for further management on the same day.
The patient is now afebrile in stable condition.
His cerebrospinal fluid and serum specimens tested positive for antibodies against JE today upon laboratory testing by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient lives in the quarters of Crossroads Foundation near Gold Coast, Tuen Mun, and had no recent travel history during the incubation period. He could not recall any recent mosquito bites. His family contact has remained asymptomatic and will be put under medical surveillance. The CHP's investigations are ongoing.
Officers of the CHP will conduct home visits and surveys among neighbours of the patient's residence for active case finding and arranging of blood tests. The CHP's hotline (2125 1122), set up for public enquiries since the first local confirmed JE case, will operate till 9pm today and from 9am to 6pm from tomorrow (August 7) onwards.
A health talk will be held at Crossroads Foundation this evening to deliver health advice to the public. Residents of Tuen Mun District with JE symptoms are also advised to promptly seek medical attention.
The CHP will issue letters to doctors and hospitals to draw their attention to the case and enlist their support in early diagnosis, control and prevention of JE.
This is the fourth JE case (three local, one imported) reported to the CHP this year. Six cases (two local, three imported, one unclassified) were reported in 2013 while three (one local, two imported) were filed in 2012.
"JE is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Culicine mosquito) is the principal vector of JE and is nocturnal. It mainly breeds in waterlogged fields, marshes, ditches and small stagnant collections of water around cultivated fields. The mosquitoes become infected by feeding on pigs and wild birds infected with the JE virus, and then transmit the virus to humans and animals during the feeding process. JE is endemic on the Mainland and in Southeast Asia," a spokesman for the CHP explained.
Most JE virus infections are mild without apparent symptoms other than fever with headache. More severe infections are clinically characterised by the quick onset of headache, high fever, neck stiffness, impaired mental state, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions (especially in infants) and paralysis.
To avoid contracting JE, members of the public, particularly those living in rural areas, are reminded to take heed of the following preventive measures, especially after dark:
* Wear loose, light-coloured, long-sleeved clothes and trousers;
* Use effective insect repellents containing DEET over exposed parts of the body and clothing when outdoors; and
* Use mosquito screens or nets in rooms which are not air-conditioned.
Travellers to endemic areas of JE should take the following precautions:
* Avoid outdoor exposure to mosquito bites at dusk and dawn, especially in rural areas, when mosquitoes spreading this virus are most active;
* Apply effective insect repellents containing DEET over exposed parts of the body and clothes; and
* Consider vaccination and arrange a travel health consultation with a doctor to determine the need for vaccination and vector preventive measures at least six weeks before departure to endemic areas in Asia or the Western Pacific for stays of over one month, particularly in high-risk rural areas.
The public may visit the CHP's JE page (www.chp.gov.hk/en/content/9/24/28.html) or that of the DH's Travel Health Service (www.travelhealth.gov.hk) for further information on JE and outbreaks in other areas.
"Vector-borne diseases" is the theme of this year's World Health Day (WHD) of the World Health Organization. The public may visit the CHP's WHD Page (www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/28258.html) for more information.
Ends/Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:45
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