Coronavirus – Credit CDC PHIL
# 6614
My thanks to Crof who picked up an announcement from the Centre for Health Protection today (see Hong Kong: Suspected coronavirus case investigated) indicating that Queen Mary Hospital is testing a 4-year old boy - recently arrived from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - for the novel coronavirus recently detected in two patients from the Middle East.
Right now, this is just a suspected case, and we must await test results before we can know the cause of this boy’s illness.
Anyone who develops a respiratory illness within 10 days of visiting the Middle East is a prime candidate for testing, as we saw 10 days ago with five Danish Patients Negative For Coronavirus.
Here is the CHP announcement. I’ll be away from my desk for a few hours this evening, so check with Crofsblog (who very often has the news first) as well as here for any updates.
Suspected case of severe respiratory disease associated with novel coronavirus under investigation
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received a report from Ruttonjee Hospital (RH) today (October 7) of a suspected case of Severe Respiratory Disease associated with Novel Coronavirus affecting a four-year-old boy who came from Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
The boy presented with fever, cough and vomiting today and attended the Accident and Emergency Department of RH. The boy has been transferred to Queen Mary Hospital for isolation. His current condition is stable.
Respiratory specimen has been taken from the patient and test result is pending.
The CHP's investigation revealed that the boy travelled with his father from KSA to Hong Kong on October 3. His father also had fever two days ago but has recovered.
"The CHP is also closely liaising with the Hospital Authority to monitor the situation," a CHP spokesman said.
The spokesman advised travellers who fall sick within 10 days after visiting from affected countries should put on a mask and seek medical advice immediately, as well as report their travel history to the doctor concerned.
Ends/Sunday, October 7, 2012
Issued at HKT 22:02
