25 May 2009
A spokesman for the Department of Health (DH) today (May 25) called on travellers who arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (May 24) from New York by taking a flight of Cathay Pacific Airlines (flight no. CX 841, codeshare American Airlines AA6073) to call the DH hotline 2125 1111 to facilitate surveillance of their health condition by the health authorities.
The appeal was made following the confirmation of two imported cases of human swine influenza (Influenza A H1N1) involving a four-year-old boy and his one-and- a-half-year-old sister who had taken the flight concerned.
The two and their parents sat on row 41 of the flight.
The girl had an onset of runny nose on May 23 and the boy developed similar symptoms after arriving Hong Kong.
Laboratory analysis on respiratory samples taken from the two patients yielded positive results for human swine influenza tonight.
The children visited New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey with their parents from May 7 to May 23.
DH's investigation showed that the family took the Airport Express to Central where they took a taxi back to their home in Cavendish Heights.
They stayed at home until this morning. The mother and a domestic helper took the children to a private clinic in Repulse Bay Shopping Centre by taxi.
The doctor at the clinic arranged ambulance transfer of the two patients to Queen Mary Hospital.
The parents and the domestic helper are asymptomatic and will be admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) for observation. The two children will also be transferred to PMH for isolation. They are in stable condition.
DH is now tracing passengers sitting on rows 38 -44 of CX841 and the crew members of the flight who had served the cabin concerned.
Passengers who had travelled in the flight are urged to call the hotline.
The spokesman also urged the taxi drivers who took the family from Central to Cavendish Heights yesterday evening and from Cavendish Heights to Repulse Bay this morning to contact the hotline.
Investigations into the cases are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the spokesman called on called on members of the public to advise their children, relatives or friends coming to Hong Kong from abroad to defer their trips if they developed symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat.
"To protect their own health and that of other travellers, they should seek medical attention where they are.
"If they feel unwell on the plane, they should wear a face mask and inform cabin crew immediately," the spokesman said.