17 May 2009
A spokesman for the Department of Health (DH) today (May 17) called on travellers who had arrived in Hong Kong yesterday evening from New York by taking a flight of Cathay Pacific Airlines (flight no. CX 831,codeshare American Airlines (AA6091)), to call the DH hotline 2125 1111 to facilitate surveillance of their health conditions by the health authority.
The appeal was made following the confirmation of a case of human swine influenza (Influenza A H1N1) involving a male passenger who had taken the flights concerned.
The spokesman said results of laboratory analysis on respiratory samples taken from the patient yielded positive for human swine influenza today.
"The patient is a 23-year-old student, a Guangdong resident studying in the United States. He developed cough and runny nose on May 14 when he was in the United States. He developed fever while on the flight from New York to Hong Kong. The patient had put on a mask during the journey to Hong Kong," the spokesman said.
The man was intercepted by Port Health officers at the airport as he had declared to have cough and failed to pass the body temperature screening. He was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital by ambulance and was admitted to an isolation ward. He is now in stable condition.
"The patient sat at row 60 on flight CX831. The DH is now tracing the crew members of the flight who had served the cabin concerned and passengers who sat on rows 57-63 of the flight.
"Those who are located in Hong Kong will be taken to MacLehose Holiday Camp for quarantine," the spokesman said.