[Rapporto Sing Tao Daily]The Department of Health’s Center for Health Protection said today (29) that as of 5:00 pm today the Center had no new confirmed cases of melioidosis. The CFS advises the public to maintain personal and environmental hygiene at all times and seek medical attention as soon as possible if they develop symptoms.
In response to the fact that soil samples at the Pak Tin village redevelopment site had tested positive for Burkholderia melioidosis nucleic acid tests earlier, the Center followed up the health of 188 staff members at the site. found that all staff members were asymptomatic. In order to further understand whether staff had been infected in the past, the center and the University of Hong Kong conducted a melioid serum test for 26 staff members with chronic diseases on the site. Results showed that 10 of them were positive for melioid antibodies, which involved 8 men and two women, aged between 39 and 66 years. They have worked at the affected sites for two months or several years, have not developed any serious infections in the past year, and have not developed any symptoms recently.
Given the positive antibody test results, the center believes they may have been asymptomatically infected in the past during soil or wastewater exposure with melioidosis bacteria. Studies abroad have found that some high-risk groups, such as farmers and construction workers who have higher exposure to soil and wastewater, have a higher likelihood of infection and a higher ratio of serum antibodies. As a precaution, the Center will arrange for the 10 people to be taken to a public hospital for further clinical evaluation.
The other 8 people’s serum antibody results were negative and the remaining 8 people’s test results were indeterminate and need to be tested again in two weeks. The Center previously announced that environmental samples collected at the site were tested for melioid nucleic acid by the Center and the University of Hong Kong: four were positive (but the bacterial load was very low) and 20 were negative. The center ordered disinfection of the site and reminded staff to wear masks, pay attention to hand hygiene and avoid direct contact of the wound with soil and wastewater. The Center also advises site staff, especially those with chronic illness, to keep an eye on symptoms and seek medical attention as soon as possible if they have symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath and wound inflammation.
A spokesperson for the CFS reiterated that melioidosis is generally not transmitted from person to person or from animals. Melioidosis bacteria can survive in the local environment, and human cases of melioidosis are recorded every year in Hong Kong. According to the literature, cases of infection are more common after typhoons or heavy rains. After a typhoon or heavy rain, Burkholderia melioidosis in soil and muddy water can be exposed to the soil, and with strong winds or heavy rain, melioid bacteria are more likely to spread and the number of cases of melioidosis can increase.
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