# 8291
On the heels of the announcement earlier today out of Malaysia (see Malaysia Reports Their 1st Imported H7N9 Case) Hong Kong’s CHP is reporting their 5th imported case of H7N9, in a 65-year-old recently arrived from Guangdong Province.
Imported human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong under CHP investigation
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (February 12) investigating an imported human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong affecting a man aged 65.
The patient, with underlying medical conditions, lives in Sha Tin. He has developed fever and cough since February 8 and consulted a private medical practitioner on February 9. He was admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) yesterday (February 11) for persistent illness and was then transferred to isolation ward for further management. He is now in critical condition.His nasopharyngeal aspirate was positive for avian influenza A(H7N9) virus upon laboratory testing by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch.
Preliminary epidemiological investigations by the CHP revealed that, the patient had travelled to Kaiping, Guangdong from January 24 to February 9 and had stayed in his local residence. Information so far indicated that his family had bought a slaughtered chicken from a village in Kaiping on January 29.
The patient's seven family members in Hong Kong have remained asymptomatic and five of them (classified as close contacts) will be admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital for observation and testing.
Further investigations into his travel and exposure histories are ongoing, in parallel with tracing of other contacts of the patient, including the doctor and patients of the private clinic which the patient attended, patients who stayed in the same room with the patient in KWH, and relevant visitors and healthcare workers of KWH, who will be put under medical surveillance.
The CHP will liaise with relevant Mainland health authority to follow-up the patient's contacts during his stay in the Mainland.
"The Serious Response Level under the Government's Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic remains activated and the CHP's follow-up actions are in full swing," a spokesman for the DH remarked.
This is the fifth confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong. The CHP will notify the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Health and Family Planning Commission as well as health and quarantine authorities of Guangdong and Macao.
I’ll have details on additional cases already being reported today from Zhejiang, Hunan, and Guangdong provinces later in the morning. The best way to keep track of all of these cases is via FluTrackers (absolutely indispensible) H7N9 Case Line Listing, which I refer to constantly.
Despite the steady stream of cases, and the occasional small clusters reported, thus far we’ve not seen any evidence of sustained and efficient transmission of this virus in the community.
