Hong Kong is on "serious alert" for swine flu which is thought to have killed up to 81 people in Mexico, where empty streets and face-mask wearing citizens evoke memories of the deadly SARS outbreak here six years ago.
The fast-spreading virus has also made scores of people sick in the United States, Europe and New Zealand and sparked emergency meetings of the World Health Organization.

Secretary for Health York Chow Yat- ngok said vigilance has been stepped up at all entry points and sick passengers arriving from affected countries will be quarantined in hospital until tests clear them of the disease.

Medical expert Lo Wing-lok said since there are no direct flights from Mexico to Hong Kong, it is more likely swine fever could arrive here on services from the western coast of the United States.

He also said there is a higher chance of the disease entering the mainland, which has a less stringent surveillance system. If this happens, it will be far more difficult to contain the spread, he said.

The mainland's health ministry said it is "paying close attention" to the situation and studying inspection and quarantine measures to guard against the spread of the flu strain.

Chow warned that if the virus is able to mutate from human to human, there is little Hong Kong can do other than take all possible precautions.

He said there are 1,400 hospital beds to accommodate infectious disease patients.

"We shall heighten vigilance at our borders to tackle particular
ly those traveling from infected places. When they come to Hong Kong, we will [give] health advice and [conduct a] health check, including a temperature check," Chow said.

"We shall also, in the next couple of days, put swine flu onto the list of notifiable diseases, so that both public and private doctors have to notify the Department of Health if they suspect patients of having the disease to ensure the proper handling of those new cases."

This is the first time the health bureau has issued a "serious" alert since the new three-level system - alert, serious and emergency - was introduced in 2006, replacing a color-coded alarm that was used in 2003 after the SARS outbreak that killed 299 people.

Centre for Health Protection controller Thomas Tsang Ho-fai said individuals confirmed to be arriving from swine flu-affected countries and found to be feverish during border checks will be sent to hospital and held until tests show they are clear of the virus.

But he said there is no 100 percent guarantee Hong Kong can prevent an outbreak, noting a worst-case scenario of someone slipping under the health- check radar by not immediately displaying symptoms.

He said there is a sufficient stock of flu medication to cope with a pandemic.

A center spokesman said airlines have been asked to broadcast health advice messages on all direct flights originating from affected areas.

Chow strongly advised Hong Kong residents not to travel to infected zones unless absolutely necessary.

Chinese University respiratory division head David Hui Shu-cheong said the measures being taken are appropriate under the circumstances.

"It is important to pick up the index cases as early as possible before the disease spreads," Hui said.

But the medical professor warned Hong Kong will need to take more drastic measures if any human case is found or if the virus surfaces at a local pig farm.

"Culling pigs will become necessary if the virus surfaces in any farm, similar to the way we handled the chicken flu," he said.

World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun earlier said the situation in Mexico is a public health emergency of international concern.

Contributed by The Standard and Adele Wong and Patsy Moy – 27.04.09


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