1998

12 March 1998

Disease Outbreak Reported

The results from a case-control study on avian influenza conducted in Hong Kong showed that visiting poultry stall in the one week before becoming ill was the strongest risk factor. The case-control study was aimed at comparing different exposure risk factors between patients and controls. It covered a number of areas including live poultry exposure, exposure when preparing food, food eaten during the week before onset and human illness exposure during the week before onset. The results supported earlier findings that human-to-human transmission of the disease is inefficient.

The case-control study was jointly carried out by the Department of Health, Hong Kong and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC). The results of the study were released by the Hong Kong Department of Health and were also presented at a session of the International Emerging Infectious Disease Conference held in Atlanta, USA.

In all, 18 cases were confirmed influenza A(H5N1) in Hong Kong. The day of onset of illness of the last case was 28 December 1997. A 24-year-old female patient is still under treatment and in stable condition while 11 others have been discharged after recovery. Six people died of the disease.