Virus vigilance must be HK priority
Editorial | Mary Ma 20 Jan 2020
There is every reason to be vigilant after Wuhan confirmed 17 new cases of a new coronavirus.
It means the spread has not yet stopped, despite earlier optimism that the previously unknown disease might have ceased to spread following a pause in new cases being detected after the incubation period.
It is now the consensus that the SARS-like virus can be transmitted between humans - but that the capability may be technically limited.
If it were able to spread like the deadly SARS virus which killed hundreds in Hong Kong and the mainland more than 16 years ago, it would be a cause for grave concern. Hopefully, that dire scenario will not repeat itself.
Since the new coronavirus outbreak was reported in the capital city of Hubei province, the number of confirmed human-infection cases has increased to 62 in the mainland city, including the 17 cases officially announced yesterday.
The sudden increase in confirmed cases raises fears that figures reported to date by mainland authorities could be the tip of the iceberg and that this could be aggravated by the hundreds of millions of mainlanders traveling from cities to return for family reunions in rural areas over the Chinese New Year holidays.
The increase also confirms my concern, voiced earlier in this column, that it would be too incredible to believe the new disease was limited to Wuhan and did not affect other mainland cities considering the fact that Wuhan is a key public transport hub.
It is also hard to believe because the number of cases reported outside China increased to three over the past few days with two in Thailand and one in Japan. All three had departed from Wuhan.
The patient in Japan reportedly had not visited the seafood market where wild animal meat had been sold to consumers before it was shut down to be cleaned. The patient reportedly lived with a known victim for 10 days in Wuhan.
It would not surprise me if local health authorities in other mainland cities have yet to catch up with the situation to produce a more accurate count that could be much higher than what has been revealed officially.
Otherwise, they would have been guilty of covering up or playing down a potential health crisis.
According to scientists at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London, the actual number may be close to 1,700 cases.
Since Hong Kong stepped up its vigilance, about 100 people arriving from Wuhan have been examined after showing symptoms of pneumonia or acute respiratory infection. Though none has tested positive for the new coronavirus, it is only a matter of time before the first Hong Kong case emerges - especially after three cases have been confirmed overseas.
Doctors in Hong Kong have not yet treated the new disease clinically, even though they have produced a quick test to identify the virus.
However, I am confident they do have a contingency plan, or plans, for treatment when someone is found to have contracted the disease.
Our health authorities must stay on the highest level of alert before that unfortunate eventuality happens.
