Posted on 06/04/2003 11:11:53 AM PDT by CathyRyan
``Invisible'' Sars patients - carriers of the disease who do not display symptoms - will continue to pose a threat to local health authorities struggling to achieve zero infection rates for the disease, Director of Health Margaret Chan said yesterday.
At a press briefing, Chan said the problem, which threatened local healthcare workers, was also exasperating health authorities in other Sars-stricken areas.
``Although we have encountered such situations in both local public and private hospitals, these occurrences are not confined to Hong Kong,'' she said.
``Overseas health authorities also told us [they have recorded]similar cases [in which patients'] symptoms were not obvious.''
Chan noted that the presence of invisible carriers was making life increasingly hard for medical teams.
``Given that the patients' symptoms are so inobvious, it creates limitations for clinical doctors attempting their diagnoses as they can not guarantee to find all invisible Sars patients,'' she said.
``I hope everybody understands it is not doctors, or the government not performing, but such situations do happen.''
After the World Health Organisation (WHO) lifted its travel advisory against Hong Kong, at least 21 patients and medical workers have suffered cross-infection and contracted Sars in local hospitals.
Chan called for all healthcare workers in Hong Kong to adopt universal precaution measures. They should use a full set of preventive gear, even if they are not treating patients diagnosed with, or suspected of carrying, Sars. And they should be more prudent about minimising the risk of infection.
`` Chan said the government and the Hospital Authority were still canvassing opinions over the construction of an independent hospital for infectious diseases.
Meanwhile, a healthcare worker at North District Hospital was confirmed as the only Sars case reported yesterday. No deaths were recorded.
Liu Shao-haei, senior executive manager of the Hospital Authority, said initial investigations showed the worker contracted the disease from one of his family members, who was previously confirmed as a Sars case.
``We have already conducted close surveillance on the ward where the healthcare worker was employed, but no patients at the ward have developed Sars symptoms,'' he said.
The case took the cumulative total of Sars cases in Hong Kong to 1,748, with the death toll remaining at 283.
Going to slow things down, for the patients. That gear has to be changed every time you go in and out of a room...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.