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SCMP Reporter

Updated at 7.12pm:
The Health Department on Friday warned the public to take health precautions in the countryside following the recent discovery of bacteria in water samples.

A spokesman for the Centre of Health Protection said the bacterium, chromobacterium violaceum, was recently detected in samples collected in a pond at a Tuen Mun campsite and a water catchment near the campsite.

The CHP collected the samples for tests after a 40-year-old man, who stayed at the campsite on May 21 and 22, contracted a disease. He died on May 26.
 
The bacterium C violaceum was found in his blood and the abscess on his right arm.

Other people who stayed with the man at the campsite have showed no signs of infection, the spokesman said.

CHP staff also visited the dead man's home and collected environmental samples to investigate. Laboratory testing of the samples was continuing on Friday afternoon, the spokesman said.

CHP consultant Thomas Tsang Ho-fai said the discovery of C violaceum in water samples was consistent with reports in scientific journals that the bacterium was naturally present in water and soil.

'Although C violaceum is in existence in the natural environment, cases of human infection are rare worldwide and the bacterium usually gains entry into the body through wounds on the skin,' Dr Tsang said.

He noted that apart from C violaceum, a host of other disease-causing micro-organisms, including tetanus, mycobacteria and certain fungi, could be naturally present in soil and fresh water.

'To prevent infections from these kinds of bacteria, the best preventive measure is to give proper and early attention to wounds and to seek medical attention promptly if signs of wound infection are recognised,' he urged.

Dr Tsang advised people to take the following precautions in the countryside:


 Cover wounds properly and avoid them coming into contact with soil and untreated surface water;


 Consult a doctor early if there are signs of fever and wound infection (redness, swelling, heat);


 Have an anti-tetanus vaccinations;


 Do not walk barefoot in watery rice paddies, or on muddy land, do not swim in polluted waters and do not wash your face with stream or pond water;


 Wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover arms, legs and ankles and apply insect repellent to exposed skin.




Health Department investigating discovery of bacteria in water samples