The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Monday it has stepped up surveillance for arrivals from Russia following the death of a laboratory worker in the country from severe pneumonia of undetermined causes.

The increased surveillance comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday it still does not know what caused the pneumonia that killed the Russian lab worker at an anti-plague research centre in Siberia this month, and that no case of plague had been registered.

In a statement, the CHP said it had not received any reports of such an infection in residents or travellers arriving from Russia in recent months.

It added that there was no evidence of ongoing transmissions associated with the case so far, according to the WHO's assessment.

The CHP said the immediate public health impact on Hong Kong was low but that it had implemented a series of control and prevention measures to guard against any imported cases.

These included enhanced health surveillance of passengers arriving from Russia at the airport, with temperature checks at relevant flight gates and health assessments for passengers showing symptoms.

The CHP also urged passengers who had visited Irkutsk Oblast of Siberia, Russia, within the past 14 days to declare their travel history.

Passengers showing symptoms of pneumonia, following assessments, would be transferred to a hospital for further testing, it said.

The centre stressed that letters would be sent to all doctors and hospitals in the city, reminding them to stay highly vigilant and strengthen surveillance. (Additional reporting from Reuters)



Edited by Edmond Fong