Tag Archives: China

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (January 6) investigating a case of invasive meningococcal infection, a communicable disease transmitted by direct contact with droplets from carriers or infected persons.

     The case involves a 37-year-old male with good past health, who was admitted to a correctional institution in Southern District since early December last year. The patient was clinically stable until January 3 this year. He started to have signs of mental confusion and was immediately sent to the Accident and Emergency Department of Queen Mary Hospital on January 4. Later, the patient developed fever and was transferred to the intensive care unit for further treatment. His clinical diagnosis was meningitis. His cerebrospinal fluid sample tested positive for Neisseria meningitidis upon laboratory testing.

     The CHP is carrying out its epidemiological investigations and has arranged chemoprophylaxis for all close contacts, who have remained asymptomatic so far. The institution has also followed the advice by the CHP to immediately disinfect relevant environment. Investigation is continuing.

     “Meningococcal infection is caused by a bacterium known as meningococcus. It is mainly transmitted by direct contact through respiratory secretions, including droplets from the nose and throat, from infected persons. The incubation period varies from two to 10 days, and is commonly three or four days,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     The clinical pictures among the infected may vary. Severe illness may result when the bacteria invade the bloodstream (meningococcaemia) or the membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord (meningococcal meningitis).

     Meningococcaemia is characterised by a sudden onset of fever, intense headache, purpura, shock and even death in severe cases. Meningococcal meningitis is characterised by high fever, severe headache and a stiff neck followed by drowsiness, vomiting, fear of bright light, or a rash. It can cause brain damage or even death. The brain damage may lead to intellectual impairment, mental retardation, hearing loss and electrolyte imbalance. Invasive meningococcal infection can be complicated by arthritis, inflammation of the heart muscle, inflammation of the posterior chamber of the eye or chest infection.

     Meningococcal infection is a serious illness. Patients should be treated promptly with antibiotics.

     To prevent meningococcal infection, members of the public are advised to take heed of the following measures:
 

• Wash hands with liquid soap and water properly, especially when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, e.g. after sneezing, and clean hands with alcohol-based handrub when they are not visibly soiled;
• Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, hold the spit with a tissue, dispose of nasal and mouth discharge in a lidded rubbish bin, and wash hands immediately;
• Avoid crowded places;
• Avoid close contact with patients who have a fever or severe headache;
• Travellers to high-risk areas may consult doctors for meningococcal vaccination; and
• Travellers returning from high-risk areas should seek medical advice if they become ill, and should discuss their recent travel history with their doctor.

     The public may visit the CHP’s website for more information on meningococcal infection. read more

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations: Yellow fire danger warning      The fire danger situation today (January 6) is yellow and the risk of fire is high. People are urged to prevent fires breaking out and hike… read more

     Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (January 6). They are, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Blind Union; in Kowloon, Asia Women’s League Limited; and in the New Territories, Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.
      
     Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people to distinguish among the three flag-selling activities.    
      
     Information on the three flag-selling organisations on January 6 is as follows:
 

Region	Name of Organisation	Colour of Collection Bag	Colour of Flag
Hong Kong Island	Hong Kong Blind Union	Yellow	Blue
Kowloon	Asia Women’s League Limited	Yellow	White
New Territories	Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong	Yellow	Yellow

 
     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities, including any updated information, covered by the issued Public Subscription Permits have been published on the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/en/theme/fundraising/search). Permits for flag days containing information on contact methods of the flag-selling organisations and the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/ngo/controlofc/flagdays) for reference. For enquiries, please call the SWD’s hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678.
      
     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added. read more

     In response to the allegation circulated on the Internet regarding the sales of products claiming to be pre-paid designated bags (DBs) for municipal solid waste (MSW) charging, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) made the following clarification yesterday (January 5):

     The EPD noticed that several pictures of a green garbage bag, titled “Designated Bag for Hong Kong Municipal Solid Waste Charging Next Year”, have recently been forwarded to an online discussion forum, and that same type of garbage bag is available for sale online. The garbage bag concerned is imprinted with characters including “Designated Bag” and “For Trial Only”. The department suspected that garbage bag is a dummy DB which was provided by the EPD to residents for trial use under its trial projects, which had commenced since 2018, for cultivating their new waste disposal practices, and the associated trial projects were completed at the end of 2023. The EPD emphasises that people are not allowed to use dummy DBs for depositing waste after the commencement of MSW charging, otherwise they may contravene legislations relating to MSW charging. The EPD has also notified the Hong Kong Customs of the the findings for their follow-up investigations. 

     As provided in the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354), DBs and designated labels (DLs) shall only be sold by persons authorised by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) on prescribed terms to prevent counterfeit DBs and DLs from being supplied in the market. Any unauthorised person who sells DBs and DLs is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000. Over 3 000 sales points and online platforms authorised by the DEP will start selling DBs and DLs from next month onwards, with details to be announced later this month.

     The EPD has completed registering trade marks for the designs of DBs of different capacities and DLs to guard against possible counterfeit products and eradicate copyright infringement activities. Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses, for the purpose of selling, counterfeit goods commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for five years. Members of the public may report such activities to the Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (January 5) investigating a local case of measles infection and reminded the public that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles.

     The case involves a three-year-old boy with good past health. He had developed fever since December 22 last year and visited a private doctor on the same day and his condition improved. Later, he presented with cough, runny nose and rash. He attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Kwong Wah Hospital on December 28 and was admitted on the same day. He is in stable condition after treatment and was discharged on January 2.

     His blood sample tested positive for immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies to measles virus upon laboratory testing. The patient has received measles vaccinations and had no travel history during the incubation period. His three household contacts are currently asymptomatic.

     According to information provided by the family of the patient, he had travelled to the Mainland during the communicable period. He took a cross-boundary coach operated by “Trans-Island Chinalink” from Shanghai Street, Prince Edward, at around 10.35am on December 27 to Fuxiang Bay, Hengqin New District, Zhuhai. He returned to Hong Kong by taking the cross-boundary coach at about 5.50pm on December 28. 

     â€‹The CHP is carrying out contact tracing for the case. Measles is highly infectious and the transmission risk at crowded environment (such as transportation) is higher. Since there is no contact information of all passengers who took the relevant routes at the abovementioned period, the CHP has set up an enquiry hotline (2125 2374) and appealed to the relevant passengers to call the hotline. Officers of the CHP will assess their condition and offer suggestions. The hotline will operate from 9am to 1pm tomorrow (January 6) and on January 7, and from 9am to 5.30pm starting from January 8, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). 

     Investigations are ongoing.

     “Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles. Members of the public who are planning to travel to places with a high incidence or outbreaks of measles should review their vaccination history and past medical history, especially people born outside Hong Kong who might not have received a measles vaccination during childhood. Those who have not received two doses of measles-containing vaccines, with unknown vaccination history or unknown immunity against measles, are urged to consult their doctor for advice on vaccinations at least two weeks before departure,” a spokesman for the DH said.

     Measles is a highly infectious disease caused by the measles virus. It can be transmitted by airborne droplets or direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected persons, and, less commonly, by articles soiled with nose and throat secretions. A patient can pass the disease to other persons from four days before to four days after the appearance of a skin rash.

     The spokesman advised, “The incubation period (the period from infection to appearance of illness) of measles ranges from seven days to 21 days. Symptoms of measles include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. If symptoms arise, members of the public should wear surgical masks, stop going to work or school and avoid going to crowded places. They should also avoid contact with non-immune persons, especially persons with weakened immunity, pregnant women and children aged below 1. Those suspected to have been infected are advised to seek medical attention as early as possible and reveal relevant contact history of measles to healthcare professionals.”

     Besides being vaccinated against measles, members of the public should take the following measures to prevent infection:
 

• Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene;
• Maintain good indoor ventilation;
• Keep hands clean and wash hands properly;
• Wash hands when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, such as after sneezing;
• Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and mouth discharge properly;
• Clean used toys and furniture properly; and
• Persons with measles should be kept out of school till four days from the appearance of a rash to prevent the spread of the infection to non-immune persons in school.

     For more information on measles, the public may visit the CHP’s measles thematic page. Members of the public who are going to travel can visit the website of the DH’s Travel Health Service for news of measles outbreaks outside Hong Kong. read more