Close contacts of H7N9 patient test negative
Eleven out of the 17 close contacts of the first H7N9 patient in Hong Kong tested negative for the avian influenza strain on Tuesday, but the authorities were still unable to identify which live poultry market the patient visited in Shenzhen.
The 36-year-old Indonesian domestic helper remained critically ill on Tuesday afternoon. Her close contacts include 10 members from the household that hires her, a 33-year-old woman who traveled to Shenzhen with her and six patients who shared a hospital ward with her.
All household contacts tested negative for the avian flu on Tuesday, though four of them have shown flu symptoms.
The patient’s traveling companion, who spent the night at the Princess Margaret Hospital, also tested negative for the H7N9 strain. Test results of the six fellow patients in the ward were not released on Tuesday night.
All close contacts that showed no symptom, including six household members, will be accommodated at the ad-hoc quarantine facility set up at the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung on Tuesday evening for further observation.
The patient, who shares the home with her host family at Palatial Coast in Tuen Mun, had visited a live poultry market and cooked chicken during a day trip to Shenzhen on Nov 17. But the Center for Health Protection has not yet managed to identify the market.
Unable to pinpoint the source, Hong Kong maintained its import ban on poultry from all three farms in Shenzhen as a precautionary measure. Such a ban would usually only be imposed on poultry farms located 13 kilometers from the point of transmission of avian flu.
The patient showed the first signs of flu symptoms on Nov 21 and as her condition worsened, she consulted two general practitioners in Tuen Mun on Nov 25 and 26. She was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on Nov 27 for shortness of breath and into intensive care on Friday last week.
Health officials managed to identify and reach over 200 individuals who had likely come into contact with the patient since she returned home from the Shenzhen trip, including medical personnel from two private clinics and two public hospitals.
Medical personnel at the clinics and their family showed no flu symptoms. Seven nurses and doctors from the two public hospitals who showed symptoms of upper respiratory infection all tested negative for the H7N9 avian flu strain.
Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing- man said on Monday test results would show whether a local outbreak was likely. Response levels at public hospitals for a flu pandemic have been elevated to “serious” since Monday.
At another press briefing on Tuesday, Ko urged the public to refrain from direct contact with live birds and stay away from live poultry markets when traveling outside the city. Other residents suspecting exposure to the patient could call the hotline: 2125 1111.
Since live poultry are no longer sold in most wet markets in the city, many local residents cross the border to buy live birds. A live poultry retailer at Shekou, Shenzhen, told NOW TV his Hong Kong customers usually buy several chickens at a time.
But unlike Hong Kong, there is apparently no physical isolation between the birds and customers. The NOW TV footage also showed the drainage at the Shekou market was blocked by a greenish substance believed to be chicken manure.