School concern rises after pneumonia hits 6 children in H.K

Asian Economic News, March 25, 2003

HONG KONG, March 21 Kyodo

Two schools in Hong Kong canceled classes Friday after six students caught a mysterious and deadly form of pneumonia that has so far killed 10 people and infected more than 300 others worldwide.

Two other schools stepped up disinfection following pneumonia cases reported.

The unknown strain of atypical pneumonia, named severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), struck down six children of infected health care workers in Hong Kong, raising public concern that the disease will spread in schools and kindergartens here.

The six children, aged between 2 and 15 years, are among the 197 people in the territory infected with SARS. The disease has already claimed six lives here.

However, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said there has been no sign that the infected students have spread the illness in classrooms.

''But obviously they are kept under close surveillance,'' Yeoh told reporters.

He advised parents not to let their children go to school if they are sick or unwell.

Members of the public are also encouraged to wear a mask if they have coughs and colds, and not to cough and sneeze at others in order to help prevent the spread of any respiratory infection.

Meanwhile, Yeoh defended mainland China over its possible responsibility for spilling the disease across the border to Hong Kong.

''We should not pinpoint China. It is not fair and reasonable,'' Yeoh said.

Hong Kong health authorities believe the source of many infection cases here has come from a 64-year-old mainland Chinese doctor, who was sick before coming to the territory and later died of the illness here.

The ailing Chinese doctor from Guangzhou city is thought to have infected seven people who stayed on or visited the same floor of a hotel in the territory where he frequented.

The seven then passed on the disease to health care workers and others in contact with them in Vietnam, Singapore, Canada, and two Hong Kong hospitals worst hit in the city's outbreak.

Yet there are some other clusters of cases in the territory that cannot be traced back to the Guangzhou doctor, Yeoh noted.

Yeoh said he will discuss the situation with Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang who is visiting the territory.

Mainland Chinese health authorities have informed their Hong Kong counterparts that an outbreak of atypical pneumonia in Guangdong Province, which occurred last November and has killed five people and infected 300 others, is under control. However, the cause of the outbreak there remains unknown.

''The health authorities in China, particularly the (health) ministry in Beijing, are very forthcoming. They have never tried to hide any information. They have been more than helpful,'' Yeoh said.

In another development, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it is close to confirming the identity of the virus that has triggered the highly infectious disease.

''The WHO is increasingly optimistic that conclusive identification of the causative agent can be announced soon. The development of a precise diagnostic test could follow quickly,'' the international health agency said in a statement Thursday.

Investigations have been focused on the paramyxoviridae family of viruses which cause mumps, measles and common respiratory ailments.