The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (July 28) investigating two suspected food poisoning clusters affecting 11 persons, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent foodborne diseases.

     The first cluster involved six males and three females, aged 3 to 62, who developed abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea about 13 to 20 hours after having dinner at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui on July 23.
 
     The other cluster involved a 33-year-old male and a 29-year-old female, who developed similar symptoms about 13 hours after having dinner at the same restaurant on the same day.

     Six of the affected persons sought medical advice and none required hospitalisation. All affected persons are in stable condition.

     Epidemiological investigations of the CHP revealed that the clusters might have been caused by Salmonella. It is suspected the food concerned was soft scrambled egg.

    The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has conducted an inspection at the restaurant. Initial investigations revealed that the reasons causing food poisoning include inadequate cooking and improper food holding temperatures. The investigation is ongoing.

     To prevent foodborne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:
 
• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hotpot or barbecue meal;
• Handle raw and cooked foods carefully and separate them completely during the cooking process;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and utensils to handle raw and cooked foods;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine or wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet. 

     The Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, today (July 28) congratulated Hong Kong swimming athlete Siobhan Bernadette Haughey on winning a silver medal in the Women's 100m Freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
 
     Mr Lau said, "Siobhan Bernadette Haughey performed at her best and demonstrated superb skills in the competition, winning a silver medal for Hong Kong. I am so glad and very proud of her great performance and wish her success in upcoming events."

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Tony Ko, welcomed the Government's announcement to reappoint Mr Henry Fan as the Chairman of the HA.
 
     The Government made an announcement today (July 28) to reappoint Mr Henry Fan as the Chairman of the HA for a term of two years with effect from December 1, 2023. Mr Fan has been serving as the Chairman of the HA since 2019. Mr Fan said, "I am very honoured to work with over 90 000 staff from different disciplines and professions in the HA. All HA staff go above and beyond the call of duty in their positions, safeguarding the health of Hong Kong citizens. The key task of the HA is to enforce sustainable public health services, maintaining both quality and quantity and ensuring that patients receive proper care.
 
     "With a rapidly ageing population, the medical demand of citizens surges. On top of that, the shortage of healthcare staff creates a more challenging scene. The Task Group on Sustainability of the HA continuously reviews issues related to the sustainable development of the public healthcare system, manages and diverges the demand and supply on medical services, so that the public healthcare system can continue to protect the health of our citizens. Meanwhile, we will work hard to casting around for suitable healthcare professionals. Not only do the ongoing Global Healthcare Talent Scheme and Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes bring in new blood to the HA, but they also allow our staff and medical professionals across the globe to learn from one another, shining bright together on their career paths. Certainly the most important source of manpower relies on local training and the serving staff members. Their professional contribution in caring for patients always supports the local public healthcare development."
 
     Mr Fan added that he will keep working closely with the Health Bureau, the HA Board and all of the staff, striving to enhance and provide high-quality public healthcare services to Hong Kong citizens.
 
     Dr Ko said, "Mr Fan's vision and wealth of management experience have led us to sail through all the ups and downs. We will continue to pledge our full support to and join hands with Mr Fan in the years ahead."

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs yesterday (July 27) detected three smuggling cases of tobacco products in Kwai Chung and seized about 3.3 million suspected illicit cigarettes and about 5 600 kilograms of suspected duty-not-paid manufactured tobacco products. The total estimated market value was about $41 million, with a duty potential of about $25.4 million.

     Customs yesterday detected two cases at a logistics centre in Kwai Chung. In the first case, Customs officers seized about 1.4 million suspected illicit cigarettes inside a batch of goods declared as gift boxes. The estimated market value of the suspected illicit cigarettes was about $5.1 million with a duty potential of about $3.4 million.
      
     In the second case, through risk assessment, Customs inspected two batches of goods respectively declared as storage boxes and vacuum pumps. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized a total of about 1.9 million suspected illicit cigarettes and about 3 900kg of suspected duty-not-paid manufactured tobacco products, with a total estimated market value of about $27 million and a duty potential of about $1.7 million.
      
     On the same day, Customs detected the third case in another logistics centre in the same district. About 1 700kg of suspected duty-not-paid manufactured tobacco products, with an estimated market value of about $9 million and a duty potential of about $5 million, were found inside two batches of goods which were declared as electric welding machines and tapes respectively.
      
     After preliminary investigations, Customs believes that the batch of suspected illicit cigarettes and duty-not-paid manufactured tobacco products will be transshipped to Australia.
        
     An investigation is ongoing.
      
     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis, and step up enforcement actions to combat smuggling of illicit cigarettes. Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
      
     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years. 
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (July 28) that United Christian Hospital (UCH) has become the eighth public hospital to have obtained the Baby Friendly Hospital (BFH) accreditation. UCH has continued to give impetus to breastfeeding and the breastfeeding rate in UCH achieved a remarkable result of over 80 per cent in the first half of 2023.
 
     UCH has all along endeavoured to promote and support breastfeeding. The UCH Breastfeeding Promotion Committee has done substantial work to strengthen staff training, improve breastfeeding facilities in the hospital and formulate a comprehensive infant feeding policy, ensuring that all staff have adequate knowledge and skills to promote breastfeeding. The hospital also has organised a World Breastfeeding Week event every year not only for better promotion of breastfeeding but also to hand out certificates to postnatal staff who have continued breastfeeding for six months or more in the past year as encouragement and appreciation.
 
     In addition, UCH's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) has been working with the Health Resource Centre since 2021 to provide weekly online courses to teach parents the basics of breastfeeding as well as postpartum practice. The O&G Specialist Outpatient Clinic also has an Antenatal Counselling Service and Infant Feeding Information Centre which provide sufficient knowledge, professional advice and assistance on breastfeeding to mothers. The O&G has been encouraging parents-to-be to join their regular natural childbirth course and even teamed up with hospital volunteers to form a UCH Breastfeeding Volunteer Team to provide appropriate counselling services and share breastfeeding experience with parents who attend follow-up consultations.
 
     Apart from UCH, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Mary Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Tuen Mun Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital have already been accredited.