Hong Kong doctor dies, 2 others treated in suspected E coli cluster
Investigation under way into trio of oncologists at same hospital who presented symptoms of highly toxic E coli strain
Experts investigating the cases at Princess Margaret Hospital’s oncology department in Kwai Chung said on Tuesday that they believed the doctors could have been infected with Shiga toxin-producing E coli after eating contaminated food, but there was no evidence they had shared meals or visited the same catering areas.
“A common food source is not a small possibility,” said Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, who was involved in the investigation.
He said contaminated water was unlikely to be the source of the infections as the level of chlorine in the city’s water was high enough to act as a disinfectant.
Yuen said investigators had yet to determine whether Shiga toxin-producing E coli led to the death of the doctor, who had a good health record.
The strain was found in a stool sample of one of the doctors who had milder symptoms.