Fourth infection may have come from Tseung Kwan O market
A nine-month-old girl who made frequent visits to a wet market has been confirmed to have contracted H9N2, a rare form of bird flu, bringing the total number of infections recorded in Hong Kong to four.
Controller of the Centre for Health Protection, Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, said this was the third time H9N2 viruses had been found in humans in the city. Two girls, aged one and four, were infected in 1999 and in 2003 a boy was infected. They all recovered.
'Further genetic sequencing is being conducted to see if it is different from the previous strain and determine if the virus is completely of avian origin. We expect to have tests results soon,' Dr Tsang said.
'This is an isolated case and the source of infection is being investigated. Initially it seems that the latest case is similar to the ones previously reported.'
The centre said it would inform the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of Health in Beijing and the health authorities in Macau and Guangdong province about the latest findings.
The baby, who lives in Tseung Kwan O with her parents and grandmother, is being monitored in isolation at Princess Margaret Hospital. She developed symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection and fever on March 4 and was admitted to United Christian Hospital two days later.