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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (November 22) investigating a fatal case of invasive pneumococcal infection, caused by a type of bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) affecting a girl aged five.
The patient, with good past health, presented with fever and cough on November 13 and consulted three private doctors on November 13 and 14. As her condition deteriorated with shortness of breath, the girl then sought medical attention from a private hospital on November 16 and was transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) on the same day for further management but died on November 18.
Her pleural fluid specimen tested positive for pneumococcus upon laboratory testing by PWH, while a pneumococcus isolate from her tracheal aspirate specimen was determined to be serotype 3 by the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch of the CHP.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the girl had not been immunised with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV). She had no recent travel history and her family contacts have so far remained asymptomatic.
No other similar cases or outbreaks have been reported so far by the kindergarten which she attended. Advice on prevention of respiratory infectious diseases has been delivered to the management of the kindergarten.
Investigations by the CHP are ongoing.
The CHP will issue a letter to doctors and private hospitals to update them on the latest fatal cases of invasive pneumococcal infection and the antibiotic resistance pattern of pneumococcus.
The Working Group on pneumococcal vaccination under the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases of the CHP will convene a meeting in early December to look into the issue and examine the latest local and overseas epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal infection.
"Parents should seek medical consultation immediately if their children develop symptoms of respiratory tract infection, such as fever and cough, even if their children have been immunised with the PCV," a spokesman for the CHP remarked.
"Pneumococci are commonly found in the nose and throat of healthy people, particularly in children. They mainly spread from one person to another through coughing, sneezing or direct close contact. They can also spread via contact with materials soiled with sputum or nasal discharges of the infected," the spokesman explained.
Locally, serotype 3 pneumococcus is one of the more than 90 serotypes of pneumococci which cause invasive pneumoccocal infection and is not an uncommon serotype circulating in the community.
To prevent pneumococcal infection, the CHP appealed to members of the public to take heed of the following advice:
* Keep hands clean and wash them properly; alcohol-based handrub is also effective when hands are not visibly soiled;
* Wash hands with liquid soap promptly when they are soiled by nasal discharges or sputum, for example, after sneezing or coughing;
* Cover the nose and mouth with tissue paper while sneezing or coughing;
* Always wrap nasal and mouth discharges with tissue paper. Dispose of soiled tissue paper properly in a lidded rubbish bin;
* Wear a mask when symptoms of respiratory tract infection develop;
* Do not share utensils and wash them thoroughly after use;
* Maintain good ventilation in indoor areas; and
* Avoid attending crowded and poorly ventilated public places if feeling unwell.
Members of the public can visit the CHP's website, www.chp.gov.hk, for general information about the infection.
Ends/Friday, November 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:30
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