Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating this evening (June 28) a local case of Japanese encephalitis (JE) and again urged the public to avoid going to rural areas from dusk till dawn when the vector, which breeds in large water bodies such as rice paddies, is most active.
 
     According to the patient’s family, the female patient, aged 63 with good past health, lives in Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling. She has presented with fever, vomiting and decreased general condition since June 21. She attended the Accident and Emergency Department of North District Hospital on June 23 and was admitted for management subsequently. She is now in a serious condition.
 
     Her cerebrospinal fluid tested positive for immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against JE upon laboratory testing.
 
     Initial enquiries revealed that the patient had no travel history in the incubation period and had no exposure to farm and pig. Her local movements before onset were mainly from her residence to Cheung Wah Market in Fanling and Shek Wu Hui Market in Sheung Shui. Her home contacts have remained asymptomatic and have been put under medical surveillance. Investigations are ongoing.
 
     “We are working with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to prevent any possible spread of infection. The FEHD and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have been informed for vector investigations, surveillance and control,” the spokesman said.
 
     Officers of the CHP will conduct site visit and field investigations by questionnaire surveys at the patient’s residence for active case finding and arranging blood tests. A health talk will be held jointly with the FEHD at Cheung Wah Community Hall, Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling at 6.30pm tomorrow (June 29) to deliver health advice to residents and the public.
 
     Persons who have been to the vicinity of Cheung Wah Estate or Cheung Wah Market in Fanling or Shek Wu Hui Market in Sheung Shui with JE symptoms should call the CHP’s hotline (2125 1122) operating from 9am to 5.45pm daily starting tomorrow for laboratory investigation or referral as appropriate.
 
     The CHP will issue letters to local doctors and hospitals to alert them to the latest situation.
 
     This is the first JE case recorded in 2019, which was locally acquired. No case was recorded in 2018 and five cases, which were all locally acquired, were recorded in 2017.
 
     JE mainly occurs in the rural and agricultural areas of Asia and the Western Pacific. JE is principally transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes. The principal vector is called Culex tritaeniorhynchus. The mosquitoes breed where there is abundant water such as rice paddies and become infected by feeding on pigs and wild birds infected with the JE virus. The infected mosquitoes transmit the virus to humans and animals during biting. Symptoms usually start around four to 14 days after being infected.
 
     To prevent JE, the public should take general measures to prevent mosquito bites and avoid going to rural areas from dusk till dawn when the mosquitoes spreading the virus are most active. Travellers to endemic areas should take special note.
 
     The public should:
 
     1. Wear loose, light-coloured, long-sleeved tops and trousers, and use DEET-containing insect repellent on exposed parts of the body and clothing;
 
     2. Take additional preventive measures in outdoor activities:

• Avoid using fragrant cosmetics or skin care products;
• Re-apply insect repellents according to instructions;

 
     3. Special notes during travel:

• If going to affected areas, arrange consultation with a doctor at least six weeks before travel, and have extra preventive measures to avoid mosquito bites;
• Vaccination is recommended for travellers who plan to stay one month or longer in endemic areas, particularly in rural areas, and for short-term (less than one month) travellers if they plan to have significant extensive outdoor or night-time exposure in rural areas during the transmission season of the disease;
• During travel in endemic rural areas, carry a portable bed net and apply permethrin (an insecticide) on it. Permethrin should not be applied to the skin. Seek medical attention promptly if feeling unwell; and
• Travellers feeling unwell, such as having fever, should seek medical advice promptly, and provide travel details to the doctor.

 
     The public may visit the CHP’s JE page, tips for using insect repellents, Facebook Page, YouTube Channel and Travel Health Service and the FEHD’s Guidebook on Control and Prevention of Mosquito Breeding for more information. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 28) investigating a case of human infection of rat Hepatitis E virus (HEV) and urged members of the public to be vigilant against hepatitis E infection and to strictly observe good personal, food and environmental hygiene.
 
     The case involves a 73-year-old man with underlying illnesses, who had presented with liver function derangement earlier this month. He has been in a stable condition all along and no hospitalisation is required. His blood sample tested positive for rat HEV upon laboratory testing.
 
     The CHP’s epidemiological investigations revealed that the patient resided in Wong Tai Sin. He could neither recall having direct contact with rodents or their excreta, nor had noticed rodents in his residence. He had no travel history during the incubation period.
 
     “Based on the available epidemiological information, the source and the route of infection could not be determined. The CHP’s investigation is ongoing,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     “The CHP has already informed the Pest Control Advisory Section of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department about the case to carry out rodent control measures and survey as appropriate,” the spokesman added.
 
     The exact mode of transmission of rat HEV to humans is unknown at the moment. Possible routes of transmission include ingestion of food or water contaminated by rodents or their excreta, exposure to environments or objects contaminated by rodents or their excreta and direct contact with rodents or their excreta. The usual HEV causing human infection is transmitted mainly through the faecal-oral route.
 
     To prevent hepatitis E infection, members of the public should maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene. For example, they should wash hands thoroughly before eating, store food properly or in the refrigerator, not leave food at room temperature for a long time, and use 1:99 diluted household bleach for general household cleaning and disinfection as household detergent may not be able to kill HEV. High-risk individuals, such as elderly persons with major underlying illness (especially those who have undergone organ transplantation), pregnant women, patients with chronic liver disease and patients with Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency (also known as G6PD Deficiency), who are infected with HEV may develop serious illness, so they should exercise extra caution.
 
     The Five Keys to Food Safety should be adopted when handling food, i.e. Choose (choose safe raw materials), Clean (keep hands and utensils clean), Separate (separate raw and cooked food), Cook (cook thoroughly) and Safe Temperature (keep food at a safe temperature), to prevent food-borne diseases.
 

• Drink only boiled water from the mains or bottled drinks from reliable sources.
• Avoid drinks with ice of unknown origin.
• Purchase fresh food from hygienic and reliable sources. Do not patronise illegal hawkers.
• Clean and wash food thoroughly. Cook food, especially seafood (e.g. shellfish), pork and pig offal, thoroughly before consumption. Avoid raw food or undercooked food.
• Slice raw meat and offal into thin strips to allow thorough cooking, especially during hotpot or congee cooking.
• For sliced pig liver, depending on the thickness and quantity, boil at 100 degrees Celsius or stir-fry in hot skillet/wok for at least three to five minutes.
• Heating to an internal temperature of 90 degrees Celsius for 90 seconds is required for cooking of molluscan shellfish. If possible, remove the shells before cooking as they impede heat penetration. Otherwise, boil at 100 degrees Celsius until their shells open; boil for a further three to five minutes afterwards. Discard any shellfish that do not open during cooking.
• For meat and offal, make sure that juices are clear, not red, and blood is not visible when you cut the cooked meat and offal.
• When having hotpot, use separate chopsticks and utensils for handling raw and cooked foods to prevent cross-contamination.

    In general, rodents (such as rats) can transmit multiple diseases to humans directly and indirectly. The public are advised to adopt the following measures:
 

• Eliminate sources of food and nesting places for rodents in the living environment. Store food in covered containers and handle pet food properly to avoid it becoming food for rodents;
• Store all refuse and food remnants in dustbins with well-fitted covers. Dustbins must be emptied at least once a day;
• Keep premises, especially refuse rooms and stairways, clean. Avoid accumulation of articles;
• Inspect all flowerbeds and pavements for rodent infestation regularly; and
• Avoid the high-risk activities below to reduce rodent contact:

        – Avoid rodent contact and places dirtied with rodent excreta;
        – Avoid handling rodents with bare hands;
        – Wash hands with liquid soap and water immediately after handling animals, and disinfect contaminated areas; and
        – If a wound appears, clean the broken skin immediately and cover it properly with waterproof adhesive dressings. read more

     Following the winning of the Gold Award of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 – Smart Mobility Award (Smart Transportation Stream), and the Honorable Mention Prize of the Chinese Delegation for Invention and Innovation as… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:      Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) held separate meetings today (June 28) with members of the Islands District Council (DC) and the Wan Chai D… read more

     An associate of the licensee of an employment agency (EA) was convicted at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (June 28) for overcharging a foreign domestic helper (FDH) and fined $8,000. 
      
     From October 2018 to January 2019, the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) of the Labour Department (LD) received complaints from nine FDHs against Philip-Indonesian Helpers Employment Limited, located in North Point, for charging them excessive commission. As investigation showed there was sufficient evidence that the EA concerned had overcharged them, the LD decided to prosecute both the licensee for overcharging the nine FDHs and an associate of the licensee for the same offence involving one of the FDHs. Philip-Indonesian Helpers Employment Limited, the licensee of the EA, was earlier convicted at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for overcharging the nine FDHs and was fined a total of $84,000. The Court also ordered the EA to refund the overcharged placement fee, totalling $60,297, to the FDHs concerned. Today, the associate of the licensee was also convicted of overcharging one of the FDHs.
      
     According to the law, a licensee or an associate of a licensee in respect of an EA, or a person purporting to act as such a licensee or associate, is not allowed to collect from a job seeker any fees or charges other than the prescribed commission, which is an amount not exceeding 10 per cent of the first month’s salary of the job seeker upon successful placement.
      
     The LD reminds EAs to operate in full compliance with the law and the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies at all times. Failure to do so may lead to prosecution and/or revocation of licence. The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, effective since February 9, 2018, has raised the maximum penalty for overcharging job seekers to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. 
       
     For complaints about unlicensed operation or overcharging by EAs, please call the EAA of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon. read more