Press Release

Update on suspected food poisoning outbreak related to food premises in Hung Hom

30 July 2015

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (July 30) provided an update on its investigation into a suspected food poisoning outbreak announced on July 28, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.

Subsequent to its follow-up investigation, the CHP has identified five more clusters of suspected food poisoning outbreaks (four clusters involving 18 persons notified by the health authority of Macau and one cluster involving four persons notified by Queen Mary Hospital) related to the food premises. The five clusters involved five tour groups which had travelled from the Mainland to Hong Kong.

The newly reported clusters involve 11 men and 11 women aged between 4 and 78 who developed abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever about two to 29 hours after having lunch at the same food premises in Hung Hom on July 27. Seventeen affected persons attended hospitals in Hong Kong, Macau or the Mainland, and one of them required hospitalisation and has been discharged. They have been in stable condition all along.

Investigations are ongoing.

To prevent food-borne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:

• Eat thoroughly cooked food;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and eating utensils to handle raw and cooked food;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine and wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet.