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| Graphic from Centre for Health Protection |
A new case of chikungunya fever (CF) was reported today, bringing the total number of cases in Hong Kong to six, all of them imported, and one probable case, according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP).
The report came with a reminder for the public to maintain
strict environmental hygiene and to take personal protective measures against
mosquito bites, both locally and when travelling outside Hong Kong.
“Those who suspect they may be infected with CF should seek
medical advice promptly and avoid self-testing, which can lead to delays in
diagnosis and treatment,” the CHP said.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
The CHP controller, Dr. Edwin Tsui, urged the public not to
self-medicate, particularly with aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (such as ibuprofen), as these drugs may cause serious side effects, for
example, increasing the risk of hemorrhage or internal bleeding.
“In general, children should not take medications containing
aspirin to relieve fever or other symptoms because it may lead to ‘Reye's
syndrome’, a serious and potentially fatal complication,” he added.
The CHP said the new case involves a 31-year-old male with
good past health who lives in Kwai Tsing District. Preliminary investigations
revealed that he travelled to Foshan in Guangdong Province from August 1 to 3.
He could not confirm whether he had a history of mosquito bites.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
“Upon returning to Hong Kong, he developed a fever, rash and
joint pain on August 8. He travelled to Shenzhen on August 9 and attended a
hospital there the next day. He was not admitted and returned to Hong Kong on
the same day. He attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Yan Chai
Hospital yesterday (August 11) and was admitted for treatment in a
mosquito-free environment. He is currently in stable condition. His blood
sample tested positive for the CF virus,” the CHP report said.
"According to information from the Guangdong Provincial
Disease Control and Prevention Administration, in the past week (August 3 to
9), there were 1 387 new CF cases in Guangdong, a significant decrease compared
to the previous two weeks, which reported 2 892 cases (July 27 to August 2) and
2 940 cases (July 20 to 26) respectively. All the cases were mild, with no
severe or fatal cases reported. However, we must remain vigilant and continue to
adopt a multipronged approach to prevent local transmission," said the
Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui.
To strengthen support for ethnic minority communities,
essential information on CF has also been translated into 10 ethnic minority
languages (including Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog,
Vietnamese, Punjabi, Sinhala and Bengali) and uploaded to the CHP website (https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/104022.html).
The public should call 1823 in case of mosquito problems.
