Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=67977&sid=19599008&con_type=1
Another TB scare sounds travel alarm
Nishika Patel and Carol Chung
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
A worker suffering from multidrug-resistant active tuberculosis was able to travel by train from Guangdong to Hong Kong without notifying health authorities, it has emerged.
In the second TB scare in a week, Hong Kong Medical Association president Choy Kin, who examined the patient in Hong Kong three days ago, said the case highlighted lax cross-border health controls.
The death in England of TB-carrying teacher Clare Lennon, who flew there from Hong Kong, set off alarms last week, though the cause of her death is now open to question.
In the worker's case, he had stopped taking treatment for multidrug-resistant TB for one month due to financial problems before traveling to Hong Kong.
The man, in his 30s or 40s, did not wear a mask on the train.
Choy called for travel restrictions for such patients who could spread the disease by coughing.
"While he was on the train he could have infected other passengers without their knowledge," Choy said. "The authorities in Hong Kong did not realize he was ill."
He noted that Hong Kong people had to undergo health checks and notify authorities of TB cases when they left the territory. But this was not required for mainlanders coming to Hong Kong.
"The Hong Kong government has not been looking into this issue enough," Choy said.
"In China there is no notification system - and there should be. There are no enforcement measures to ensure patients are restricted from trains or airplanes."
The positive MDR TB test results have been sent to a chest doctor, who will inform the Department of Health in Hong Kong if the finding is confirmed.
A Guangdong health official, Feng Shaomin, said his department did not receive a report on the case from Hong Kong authorities.
"If we're informed we'll broadcast the news on radio to remind the public to take precautions," he said. "We will also trace the people the patient has been in contact with."
Feng noted that Guangdong and Hong Kong have a notification system that includes exchanges of information on infectious diseases such as TB, the H5N1 virus and dengue fever on a monthly basis.
MDR TB is resistant to at least two of the best anti-TB drugs - isoniazid and rifampicin.
The two are considered first-line drugs and are used to treat all people suffering from TB.
TB carrier Lennon flew to England in April - which sparked a hunt for 328 people with whom she had been in physical contact.
Another TB scare sounds travel alarm
Nishika Patel and Carol Chung
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
A worker suffering from multidrug-resistant active tuberculosis was able to travel by train from Guangdong to Hong Kong without notifying health authorities, it has emerged.
In the second TB scare in a week, Hong Kong Medical Association president Choy Kin, who examined the patient in Hong Kong three days ago, said the case highlighted lax cross-border health controls.
The death in England of TB-carrying teacher Clare Lennon, who flew there from Hong Kong, set off alarms last week, though the cause of her death is now open to question.
In the worker's case, he had stopped taking treatment for multidrug-resistant TB for one month due to financial problems before traveling to Hong Kong.
The man, in his 30s or 40s, did not wear a mask on the train.
Choy called for travel restrictions for such patients who could spread the disease by coughing.
"While he was on the train he could have infected other passengers without their knowledge," Choy said. "The authorities in Hong Kong did not realize he was ill."
He noted that Hong Kong people had to undergo health checks and notify authorities of TB cases when they left the territory. But this was not required for mainlanders coming to Hong Kong.
"The Hong Kong government has not been looking into this issue enough," Choy said.
"In China there is no notification system - and there should be. There are no enforcement measures to ensure patients are restricted from trains or airplanes."
The positive MDR TB test results have been sent to a chest doctor, who will inform the Department of Health in Hong Kong if the finding is confirmed.
A Guangdong health official, Feng Shaomin, said his department did not receive a report on the case from Hong Kong authorities.
"If we're informed we'll broadcast the news on radio to remind the public to take precautions," he said. "We will also trace the people the patient has been in contact with."
Feng noted that Guangdong and Hong Kong have a notification system that includes exchanges of information on infectious diseases such as TB, the H5N1 virus and dengue fever on a monthly basis.
MDR TB is resistant to at least two of the best anti-TB drugs - isoniazid and rifampicin.
The two are considered first-line drugs and are used to treat all people suffering from TB.
TB carrier Lennon flew to England in April - which sparked a hunt for 328 people with whom she had been in physical contact.
AGE_NEWS--><SCRIPT language=javascript src="/js/tooltip/wz_tooltip.js"></SCRIPT> [Oriental Daily News - the Yiboweiping, Yiboyouqi. Hong Kong's rampant bird flu has been unable to find the source, they were shocking to the tuberculosis epidemic, one in Hong Kong has coached the British female teachers, flew back to Britain later died of tuberculosis, health authorities was kept in the dark. Rumeng to wake up after the authorities to trace more than 300 contacts with the teachers, students, teachers, friends and the same plane passengers, two of them were found suffering from tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis, temporarily undetermined infection channels. Incident once again exposed local epidemic prevention system exists in name only, a major public health crisis triggered .