Melioidosis has broken out in Sham Shui Po District in recent months. Earlier this month, the authorities collected more than 200 environmental samples from the distribution tank in the district and found that more than 90 samples were positive. However, no samples live was found in 6 swab samples taken at or near the vent. Authorities also said no water samples had tested positive so far, stressing there was no evidence linking the outbreak to tap water supplied by the area’s utility tank.
Another case of melioidosis was confirmed yesterday in Hong Kong. A 61-year-old man with diabetes who lives in Sham Shui Po was hospitalized last week. He was clinically diagnosed with a lung infection. His sputum sample was confirmed to be positive for Burkholderia pseudomallei yesterday. A total of 37 cases of melioidosis have been reported in Hong Kong this year.
More than 90 samples from two tanks tested positive
Previously, the CHP found in the Sham Shui Po district service tank that some samples were positive for melioidosis. The center and the HKU team traveled to area service ponds to collect samples earlier this month and found that 87 soil samples from the Shek Kip Mei and Butterfly Valley service ponds were positive. Authorities also found that swab samples taken from five vents and one near the vent in the Shek Kip Mei service tank tested positive for nucleic acid, but these samples failed to “inoculate “, reflecting the absence of live bacteria. As regards the water samples taken so far in the water body of the distribution reservoir and at the patient’s home, the tests have all resulted negative.
Ou Jiarong, chief physician of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Health Protection Center, admitted that the transmission route of the epidemic in Sham Shui Po District has not yet been confirmed, but there is no evidence that it is related to water. of the faucet. Yuan Guoyong, head professor of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, which is in charge of the survey, said there have been an average of only 7.6 cases of melioidosis a year in recent years, but so far this year there were 36 cases, describing this time as an outbreak. However, he said it’s impossible to confirm how the bacteria spread at this stage.
Yuan Guoyong estimates that with global warming, the number of bacteria and cases will increase. As long as the cases are not clustered, there is no cause for concern. The Water Supply Department has increased the amount of residual chlorine in Hong Kong water supply areas and installed filters at service tank vents in Hong Kong to block bacteria-laden soil.
Originally released on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/Local/Another person diagnosed in Sham Shui Po – Unknown melioid epidemic/348484?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
