Measles outbreak in Hong Kong hits 5-year high, as Cathay employee is one of the latest to go down with highly contagious disease
- Two more cases reported on Saturday take number of Hongkongers infected to 19
- But officials say vaccination rates in city mean full-scale outbreak is unlikely
Two more cases of measles were recorded in Hong Kong on Saturday, bringing the total number this year to a five-year high of 19, as health authorities said they expected more incidents to be reported.
But officials said the chance of a large epidemic was not high as protection was relatively good in the city. The latest cases followed three more on Friday, surpassing the 15 from the whole of 2018 and leading authorities to declare an outbreak.
Hong Kong International Airport appears to be one of the sites of the latest cases, with at least two Cathay Pacific staff members, two baggage handlers, and a security guard having all been confirmed to be infected in the past nine days.
“From what we see, there are cases of an outbreak and we expect more to surface,” Dr Wong Ka-hing, controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said.
Wong said that of the cases in which authorities had completed their investigations, at least nine originated from overseas.
Many neighbouring countries and popular destinations among Hongkongers are facing measles outbreaks with thousands of cases reported across Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
But, Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi said authorities were not concerned about a full outbreak in the city.
“After 1990, children in Hong Kong have received two doses of a vaccine [to protect them from measles],” he said.
“When a person has completed both injections, the protection rate is 96 per cent.”
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Wong said most of the city’s residents had been immunised, especially the younger generation, pointing out that those born in 1985 and after, and who had attended primary school in Hong Kong, were likely to have taken both doses of the vaccine.
A CHP spokesman said more than 95 per cent of those who had gone through Primary One had been given the MMR vaccine. In addition, most of the older generation, such as those born in the early 1960s, would have already had the disease and developed immunity.
An immunisation exercise in 1997 for those aged between one and 19 had seen 74 per cent of those eligible also vaccinated. For those not in either of the groups, a visit to their family doctor would be enough to find out if they were in danger of contracting the disease.
Measles was a common childhood infection before the introduction of a vaccine. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a red blotchy skin rash. The disease is caused by a highly contagious airborne virus that can also be transmitted via contact with saliva and other bodily fluids.
Wong said that while some of this year’s patients reported they were vaccinated against measles, and that shots had a very high protection rate, it was not possible for everyone vaccinated to have the antibody.
According to the CHP, the two patients in the cases reported on Saturday are in a stable condition.
One is an 11-month-old girl, and the other is a 41-year-old man who works for Cathay Pacific, the same airline involved in an earlier measles case announced on March 15.
The man did not report direct contact with the airline staff member in that case.
He had travelled to a number of countries including Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines during the incubation and communicable periods.
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His case is being linked to that of three other people, all of whom work at the airport. The three are a female and male baggage handler, aged 46 and 22 respectively, and a male security guard, 40.
To prevent the possible spread of infection, a vaccination station has been set up at the airport to provide measles vaccination to workers who had not previously received one.
Li Wing-foo, vice-chairman of the Staffs and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines, said he was worried about the outbreak, especially since the three airport worker infections on Friday did not involve contact with travellers directly.
“I hope they can find the cause of the spread so that it can be under control,” he said.
Li added there were fears among union members that they could contract measles and spread the disease to family members, especially those with babies.
He said many colleagues were also concerned about having to be isolated if they were found to be infected, which would affect their work and in turn, awards or bonuses tied to attendance.
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Li urged authorities to make more information – such as affected flight numbers – available on the disease, especially for early detection among workers, and called on companies to treat cases of infected staff as work injuries so they could receive treatment and support accordingly.
An Airport Authority spokesman said it would work with relevant agencies to assist people who had come into contact with known cases, as well as on vaccinations and the relaying of information from the Port Health Office to airport business partners.
He added the authority had established procedures and contingency measures in response to infectious diseases, and that the airport had carried out disinfection operations immediately under guidelines by the Department of Health.
A Cathay spokesman said it encouraged employees to seek medical help if they did not feel well and that they should stay home to rest.
Additional reporting by Danny Mok and Elizabeth Cheung
