Hong Kong has been waiting for this year's strain of H7N9 to surface. It has every intention of treating it aggressively.
News earlier this year that the strain posed additional risks compared to older strains due to the virus' capability of attaching to specific lung tissue, raised red flags with the health authorities in Hong Kong and the mainland.
The new case of H7N9 is being treated aggressively: 17 people, all relatives and person in close contact with a severely ill patient have been quarantined.
The move highlights the concern that the medical community raised earlier this year. The person infected, an Indonesian woman, contracted the disease during a trip to Shenzhen in the mainland. As many as 200 people may have come in contact with her already, and they all have been contacted in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.
Of the ten quarantined 10 seem to have not been infected or at least to show no indication of infection. Six more patients in Tuen Mun Hospital, where the Hong Kong patient was staying, are also undergoing testing to ascertain if they too are infected with the same strain.
The Hong Kong Health authorities have now instituted point of entry checkpoints to test for possible mild flu symptoms at those arrival points.
The patient, who had cooked a live chicken last month, fell ill upon her return to China and became the first case in the island. Her family, who is under observation, all showed minor symptoms so far.
H7N9 is considered one of the deadliest types of avian influenza. With the new evidence of a mutation that allows it to better attach to certain human tissues, such a lung epithelium and other mucosal tissues, the authorities are concerned that it could constitute a significant health threat.
Source : South China Morning Post / 12.3.13
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