Flu response level lowered

June 22, 2012

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow announced the influenza response level was lowered today from serious to alert, 21 days after a case of human avian influenza was detected.
 
Briefing the media, he said many activities in healthcare institutions, including hospitals, will resume to relatively normal.
 
The response level was raised from alert to serious when a two-year-old boy was found to have influenza A (H5) on June 1. The Centre for Health Protection stepped up surveillance and began probing the source of the infection.
 
The boy's close contacts were traced and placed under quarantine. No further avian flu case was detected during the three weeks of strengthened surveillance and the case was classified as an imported sporadic infection. The boy is now in serious condition.
 
The alert response level was activated in view of the ongoing activities of highly pathogenic avian influenza among poultry outside Hong Kong.