Health Department confirms new encephalitis case
Updated at 6.41pm: The Health Department on Thursday afternoon confirmed a new case of the Enterovirus-71 (EV-71) infection and urged the public to guard against the disease.
A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the patient studied in a secondary school where three 15-year-old students had been diagnosed with the virus in the last six days.
The spokesman said health officers had imposed medical surveillance on the school and offered health advice.
The EV-71 virus could cause hand-foot-mouth disease, or even brain inflammation (encephalitis).
The latest victim, a 15-year-old boy, began displaying symptoms of the disease - including oral lesions and vesicles on hands and feet - last Monday.
He was now in stable condition without the need for hospitalisation, the spokesman said.
The boy had no recent travel history and his family did not show symptoms of the disease.
No other new case was found in the school, the spokesman said.
His case brought the total of EV-71 cases in 2006 to seven.
The spokesman said the public need to stay alert to the threat of EV-71 infection. He urged the public to:
- Wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet and changing nappies;
- Cover their mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing;
- Maintain good ventilation;
- Clean toys or appliances which are contaminated by nasal or oral secretions.
'Parents should seek medical advice if their children develop symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease. Children suffering from the infection should stay at home and avoid contacting other children until the illness is over,' the spokesman added.
