Hong Kong doctors may need to report melioidosis cases by law as 3 new infections confirmed
- More chlorine has been added to water at treatment facility and UV light disinfection technology will be installed
- Tests at reservoirs did not return positive results so source of outbreak is still unknown
Hong Kong doctors could be required to report melioidosis cases by law after health officials confirmed three more infections, while water authorities stepped up efforts through increasing chlorine levels at a treatment facility to kill germs that may have caused the mysterious outbreak.
In an evening statement on Tuesday, the Centre for Health Protection announced plans to make melioidosis a statutory notifiable disease, citing “a larger number [of infections] detected this year”, as it revealed three more cases, bringing the tally to 34.
Worryingly, two new patients – an 88-year-old man with hypertension and a 69-year-old man with chronic heart and lung problems – live in North Point and Chai Wan respectively and have no history of visiting the melioidosis-hit Sham Shui Po district. They did not drink unboiled water either.
A third patient aged 89 had a history of multiple illnesses including diabetes and hypertension, and lives in Sham Shui Po. All three of them are in stable condition.
Earlier in the day, The Water Services Department revealed new precautionary measures after visiting Shek Kip Mei and Butterfly Valley reservoirs with University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, as the two sites emerged as prime suspects for the spread of bacteria in the nearby Sham Shui Po district.
