The apparent suicide of an HIV-positive public hospital doctor has raised questions over the risk of medical workers and patients contracting the virus - and led to calls for compulsory HIV disclosure for both groups.
A concern group says medical workers, especially surgeons, can contract HIV from minor injuries, because the virus lives in bodily fluids such as blood that they can come in contact with. Equally, those with HIV can transmit it to a patient.
The doctor, who worked at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, jumped to his death in January, and the Department of Health confirmed last Saturday that he had HIV.
A hotline for members of the public concerned about the case was set up on Monday and had received 46 calls. An internal hotline was also set up for hospital staff.
The Coalition of Aids Service Organisations called for calm, saying health workers took standard precautions when in contact with blood, semen or vaginal fluid, to prevent the transmission of HIV.
But Kwok Ka-ki, a private doctor and convenor of the non-profit group Caring Hong Kong, said the government should require health workers to declare their HIV status, while patients having surgery should take an HIV test.
'There should be no discrimination for health care workers who stand up and admit they have HIV, it should be the same as admitting you have hepatitis, which people already openly do,' Kwok said. 'Admitting you have HIV no longer implies you lead a certain type of lifestyle, because most people with HIV were infected through heterosexual sex - what is there to discriminate about that?'