Rotavirus cluster confirmed in Hong Kong hospital
A spokesman for the Siu Lam Hospital in Hong Kong said they have confirmed a rotavirus cluster on a female ward, according to a press release today.
Three patients (aged 37 to 58) in a female ward for the severely intellectually disabled had presented with diarrhea or vomiting symptoms since November 9. Appropriate viral tests were arranged for the patients and their test results were positive for Rotavirus. The patients concerned are being treated under isolation with stable condition.
Hospital officials say infection control measures have been ramped up and new admissions to the ward has been suspended and visitation is restricted.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotavirus disease is most common in infants and young children, but adults and older children can also become infected with rotavirus. Once a person has been exposed to rotavirus, it takes about 2 days for symptoms to appear.
Rotavirus is shed (passed from a person’s body into the environment) in feces (stool) of infected persons. The virus spreads by the fecal-oral route; this means that the virus must be shed by an infected person and then enter a susceptible person’s mouth to cause infection.
Opened in 1972, Siu Lam Hospital is the only hospital in Hong Kong providing comprehensive rehabilitation and infirmary services exclusively for patients with severe intellectual disability aged 16 or above.
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