Hong Kong confirms 56-year-old man as city’s second imported Zika case
Patient, who is in stable condition, travelled alone to New York and Central America before developing symptoms
A 56-year-old man was yesterday confirmed to be the city’s second imported Zika case, prompting the government to take extra mosquito control measures.
The patient, who was in stable condition yesterday, received treatment under isolation in the North District Hospital.
The man, who is in chronic condition and lived in San Tin, Yuen Long, developed a fever on November 8, and rash and diarrhoea last Friday, after travelling alone to New York, Antigua and Barbuda, St Maarten and Anguilla. He was in New York and Central America between October 13 and November 8, then returned to Hong Kong from New York via Chicago on November 10.
The man first sought medical help from Sha Tau Kok general outpatient clinic two days after arriving in Hong Kong, and was referred to the North District Hospital on the same day.
Blood and urine samples were collected on the day of admission and were confirmed to have tested positive for Zika by the centre’s laboratory yesterday afternoon.
According to initial investigations, the man recalled he was bitten by mosquitoes during his stay in Antigua and Barbuda. The Caribbean islands he visited had been classified by the World Health Organisation as areas with Zika outbreaks since last year.
“Those who are planning to go to areas affected by Zika must take preventive measures,” Dr Wong Ka-hing, controller for the Centre for Health Protection, said.
After his return, the patient mainly stayed at his home in Yan Shau Wai in San Tin, with one trip made to San Fung Avenue, Sheung Shui, on Saturday when he visited the clinic.
Lee Ming-wai, pest control officer-in-charge from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, said extra mosquito control measures would be taken today at places visited by the patient.
The city’s first Zika case, which was reported in late August, involved a 38-year-old expatriate woman, who developed symptoms of joint pains and red eyes after visiting the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy.
