The A/H1N1 swine flu virus is continuing to spread in Asia. A tourist returning to Hong Kong from Phuket has tested positive.
The 33-year-old man, who went to Phuket with a friend from June 4 to 8, returned to Hong Kong by taking a Dragonair flight no. KA213 on June 8. He sat in row 26.
The man developed a cough on June 7. He declared symptoms in the health declaration form and did not pass temperature screening. He was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital by ambulance for isolation.
Thailand announced on Tuesday the country’s three new confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu patients.
Thailand has totally 13 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu patients, according to Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai.
Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, voiced concern at the sustained spread of the new H1N1 strain — including more than 1,000 cases in Australia — following major outbreaks in North America, where it emerged in April.
Confirmed community spread in a second region beyond North America would trigger moving to phase 6 — signifying a full-blown pandemic — from the current phase 5 on the WHO’s 6-level pandemic alert scale.
“The situation has really evolved a lot over the past several days. We are getting really very close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation, or I think, declaring that we are in a pandemic situation,” Fukuda told a teleconference on Tuesday.
Fukuda said a move to phase 6 would reflect the geographic spread of the new disease.
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