The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital (HKBH) made the following announcement today (July 6):
An 86-year-old male patient in a medicine and geriatrics ward of HKBH was confirmed to carry Candida auris on June 19 without signs of infection. In accordance with prevailing guidelines, HKBH has conducted contact tracing investigations and found four more male patients (aged from 38 to 97) who stayed in the same ward carrying Candida auris without signs of infection. Four patients have been discharged and the remaining patient is now being treated in isolation and is in stable condition.
The hospital will continue the contact tracing investigations of close contacts of the patients in accordance with the prevailing guidelines. A series of enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted to prevent the spread of Candida auris:
- Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the ward concerned;
- Enhanced patient and environmental screening procedures; and
- Applied stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene of staff and patients.
The hospital will continue the enhanced infection control measures and will closely monitor the situation of the ward concerned. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.
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