Photo Credit NIAID
# 6959
Today (Feb 22nd), in Hong Kong, the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, held a press conference and made a brief statement on the novel coronavirus (NCoV), and then took questions:
Secretary for Food and Health: I would like to talk on two major areas. Firstly, the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection, Dr Leung Ting-hung, yesterday had a meeting with experts of the Hospital Authority to discuss new measures that we would rely on to guard Hong Kong against possible invasion of the new novel coronavirus causing severe respiratory infection. Up to this moment, the World Health Organization has accumulatively received reports of 13 confirmed cases of infection with the new novel coronavirus, including a cluster of three cases in the United Kingdom which demonstrated evidence of human to human transmission. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen surveillance and control measures to prevent infection outbreak in Hong Kong. They have decided that the early number of cases (of infection) would be isolated in the infectious diseases block of the Princess Margaret Hospital. This arrangement is in line with Hong Kong's overall strategy of preventing severe outbreak of infectious diseases.
Reporter: There is an unconfirmed report saying that a patient transferred from Yan Chai Hospital to Queen Mary Hospital last night was under Police's escort. It was because it is a confirmed case of new novel coronavirus infection. Can you comment on that case?
Secretary for Food and Health: I cannot comment on that case and cannot confirm that particular case. Up to this moment, Hong Kong does not have a confirmed case of new novel coronavirus infection.
Reporter: Are there any suspected cases?
Secretary for Food and Health: Earlier on, two or three months ago, there were patients who developed respiratory symptoms and had a history of travel to the Middle East. They had been tested and were confirmed being negative for the new novel coronavirus.
Reporter: (On infection with new novel coronavirus)
Secretary for Food and Health: There are a lot of patients with upper respiratory symptoms at any time. They are continuously being assessed by our medical doctors. If a possible cause for the symptoms cannot be found, they might consider testing the patients against the novel coronavirus. What I can say is that there is no confirmed case and also no seriously suspected case in Hong Kong at this moment.(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, February 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:54
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As many regular readers are aware, Hong Kong is just now seeing major increases in seasonal flu and other respiratory viruses. Their latest Flu Express report (Feb 21st) reads:
Reporting period: Feb 10 – 16, 2013 (Week 7)
- The latest surveillance data showed that the local influenza activity remained elevated.
- The Centre for Health Protection has collaborated with the Hospital Authority and private hospitals to monitor influenza associated intensive care unit (ICU) admissions or deaths (aged 18 years or above) since Jan 18, 2013. As of Feb 20, there were 18 cases of influenza associated ICU admission or death, in which 6 of them were fatal.
Seasonal influenza and pneumonia can often produce serious, even fatal illness. With the current heightened alert on NCoV, we can expect that - out of an abundance of caution - many will be tested for this emerging coronavirus.
But as we saw last fall in Hong Kong, and Denmark - unless and until this virus really begins to spread (which is not a given) - most will turn out not to be infected (see Hong Kong Boy Tests Negative For Coronavirus and Hospital: Danish Patients Negative For Coronavirus).
