Dozens of Tuen Mun Hospital patients at risk of chickenpox infection
Patients at risk are being notified after man with virus visited the hospital’s outpatients centre on the fifth floor earlier this month
A total of 72 patients at Tuen Mun Hospital were on Thursday at risk of chickenpox infection, after it was revealed that a man with the virus visited the place earlier this month.
A spokesman for the hospital in the New Territories said the Centre for Health Protection told it on Tuesday that the man visited the hospital’s ambulatory care centre – which provides specialist outpatient services – on the fifth floor on March 13 and 14.
The 28-year-old man was in a stable condition and did not require admission to hospital, according to a Department of Health spokesman. He developed a rash after visiting the hospital. He then went to Kwong Wah Hospital, Yau Ma Tei, on March 17 and 20 but was not admitted. The Centre for Health Protection later notified Tuen Mun.
Dr Angus Chan Ming-wai, president of the College of Family Physicians, said chickenpox is a highly contagious disease, noting that since 2013 children in Hong Kong have been vaccinated against it at one year old and Primary One.
The illness usually causes fever and itchy skin rashes. It causes more serious problems for adults, as they can develop complications such as pneumonia, Chan said. Women infected in the first three months of pregnancy also face a risk of birth defects, he said.
