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A spokesperson for the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) today (May 17) gave the following statement:
A nine-month-old baby boy was admitted to PWH through the Accident and Emergency Department on April 28. The patient was later confirmed with measles and was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) on May 3 for treatment under isolation. The patient recovered and was discharged on May 7.
The hospital followed the standard procedure and carried out contact tracing of patients and healthcare workers for the ward concerned. The hospital recommended post-exposure preventive therapy for patients and provided their parents with the relevant health information. Three patients (two male and one female, aged 6 to 11 months) whose parents declined the post-exposure preventive therapy and one patient (male, aged 17 years) with a known history of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination subsequently developed symptoms compatible with measles. All patients were admitted to PMH between May 13 and May 16 and their conditions are stable. Two patients were confirmed with measles; serology tests of the other two patients were performed and results are pending.
Infection control measures have already been implemented and medical surveillance undertaken. The ward's visiting policy is unchanged.
The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority and the Centre for Health Protection.
Ends/Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:24
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