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Hong Kong: No Bird Flu Spread Detected

 

 

# 5074

 

 

Although not unexpected, the news out of Hong Kong this morning remains reassuring.  Dr. York Chow, Secretary of Food and Health, answered a reporter’s question today while attending an unrelated event.

 

He reported that 30 poultry farms had been inspected, and thus far, no sign of H5N1 had been detected.  More importantly, no new human cases had turned up.


And finally, Dr. Chow reported some slight improvement in their hospitalized H5N1 patient – although her condition remains serious.

 

This press release from http://www.info.gov.hk  (highlighted and reparagraphed for easier reading)

 

SFH on avian influenza

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session after attending the Bone Marrow Donor Award Ceremony  held by the Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry today (November 20):

Reporter: (on patient's condition)


Secretary for Food and Health: According to the reports from the hospital, the patient is in a stable but still considered as serious condition.

 

She is still receiving oxygen, although the oxygen concentration has decreased from 100% to 70%, which indicates her lung is actually improving a little. So we regard that her condition is stable and also slightly improving.

 

According to the work that is being done by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, they have gone through 30 chicken farms in Hong Kong in the last few days, and also obtained cloacal swabs for testing.

 

So far the tests from all these swabs were negative. The tests are still going on, but so far we feel that the risk of avian influenza in Hong Kong is still slim, and also there is no indication of human to human transmission.


(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Saturday, November 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:50

 

 

Fortunately, after the bird flu scare of 1997 and SARS in 2002-2003, Hong Kong has become one of the best equipped places on earth to deal with H5N1.

 

The lack of spread of the virus so far, while welcome, isn’t terribly surprising. The virus remains poorly adapted to human physiology, and despite ample opportunities in places like Egypt and Indonesia, only causes rare, sporadic human infections.

 

The concern, of course, is that over time that may change.

 

And so the world remains at Pre-pandemic Phase III on the H5N1 virus, and we continue to watch for signs that the virus is adapting to humans.

 

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