Credit HK CHP
# 8233
While the announcement yesterday on the detection of H7N9 in Hong Kong was in reference to imported poultry, those who had contact with the infected fowl are now the subject of contact tracing and medical surveillance by the Centre For Health Protection.
With the openness and efficiency we are used to seeing from Hong Kong’s CHP, less than 24 hours after that first announcement we have the their first epidemiological update.
First the text of the update, then some excerpts from a letter sent to local doctors informing them of the situation.
28 January 2014
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (January 28) provided an update on the epidemiological investigation after samples of live chicken imported from the Mainland tested positive for the avian influenza A(H7) virus.
The poultry worker responsible for transporting the consignment of live chickens concerned, being a close contact, has been located. He has remained asymptomatic and was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital this morning for observation. His respiratory specimen tested negative for the H7 virus upon preliminary laboratory testing by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch (PHLSB).
In collaboration with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, as of 4pm today, a total of 95 other contacts comprising 11 staff members of Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station (MKTAIS), 35 poultry workers at Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market and 49 workers involved in the culling operation have also been identified. They were put under medical surveillance and health advice was given. The CHP will follow-up on their health condition.
Among them, an officer of MKTAIS developed non-specific symptoms and his respiratory specimen tested negative for H7 upon preliminary testing by the PHLSB.
"We have issued letters to doctors and hospitals to keep them abreast of the latest situation. Doctors should remain vigilant and immediately report to the CHP if there is any suspected case," a spokesman for the CHP said.
Ends/Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Our Ref. : (122) in DH SEB CD/8/6/1 Pt.27
28 January 2014
Dear Doctor,
Live poultry imported from Mainland tested positive for H7 avian influenza virusFurther to our letter to you dated 21 January 2014, I would like to draw your attention to the report that a number of samples from a batch of live chicken imported from a registered poultry farm in Shunde District of Foshan City of Guangdong Province were confirmed H7 positive by H7 Polymerase Chain Reaction test (genetic test) on 27 January 2014. This batch of chicken had not yet been released to the retailed markets. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has declared the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market as an infected place. All of the some 20 000 live poultry in the market will be culled. The market has also been closed for 21 days until 18 February for thorough disinfection and cleansing. During the closure period, trading of live poultry (including Mainland and local live poultry) will be suspended. The Government has notified the relevant Mainland authorities for tracing the exact source of infection. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has put the wholesalers and workers of the Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station and Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market who might have been exposed to this batch of chicken under medical surveillance.
Since the occurrence of H7N9 avian influenza cases in the Mainland in March last year, Hong Kong has been on high alert and carried out measures to safeguard against the disease. Starting from last April, H7 genetic tests on imported live poultry at the boundary control point have been conducted and more than 14 000 samples have been tested since then and they were all negative for H5 and H7 viruses. It is the first time that H7 virus was found in imported poultry in Hong Kong. In accordance with the Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic on the Serious Response Level, the Government has adopted corresponding contingency measures to prevent the virus from spreading in the community and safeguard public health. Among others, the DH will enhance surveillance to detect any potential human cases.
As mentioned in our letter to you earlier, most human cases have reported contact with poultry or live animal markets. Knowledge about the main virus reservoirs and the extent and distribution of the virus in animals remains limited. Since avian influenza A(H7N9) virus causes only subclinical infections in poultry, it is possible that the virus continues to circulate among poultry without any warning signals to human. In this connection, poultry workers might be at a higher risk of avian influenza A(H7N9) infection. In fact, a proportion of the cases reported in Mainland were also poultry workers.In this connection, we would like to remind you that working in live poultry industry has been included as one of the epidemiological criteria since 6 December 2013. The reporting criteria for human influenza A (H7N9) infection are available on CENO On-line website (http://ceno.chp.gov.hk/).
Please also be reminded that the list of affected areas is regularly uploaded to CHP website (http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/global_statistics_avian_influenza_e.pdf).
