Following reports of a cluster of infections of a disease of temporarily unknown cause in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today (Dec. 5) that it had taken the initiative to seek further information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the DRC health authorities.
According to the information announced by the DRC health authorities, since late October, 79 deaths due to a disease of still unknown cause have been recorded in a district in Kwango province, and more than 300 people have been infected. Most of the patients were aged above 15 and suffered from fever, headache, runny nose, cough, breathing difficulty and anaemia.
There are currently no direct flights between the DRC and Hong Kong. The CHP has learned from the trade that travelers coming to Hong Kong from the DRC may generally choose transit hubs in Africa to Hong Kong, including Johannesburg in South Africa and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
In light of the disease of temporarily unknown cause in the DRC, the CHP has, as a precautionary measure, immediately stepped up health screenings at the airport for passengers on all flights arriving in Hong Kong from the above-mentioned transit hubs. Port Health staff have been arranged to carry out temperature checks for travellers at the relevant flight gates, conduct medical assessments for symptomatic travellers and refer suspected cases of infections with public health significance to hospitals for medical examination.
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