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| Makeshift blood testing station set up in Immigration Tower on May 16-17 for Filipino domestic workers |
By The SUN
A blood test station was set up for the past two days at the
Immigration Tower Gloucester Road
According to the Centre for Health Protection up to 200 serology
or blood-testing tests were available for the two days that the blood-taking
station was in place inside the building, on May 16 and 17.
The test is meant to find out if a person has measles
antibody, and is thus not likely to catch the infectious disease that has
afflicted a record number of people in Hong Kong
earlier this year.
A male medic said on May 17 that it was the first measles
blood station that the CHP had put up, but declined to give estimates of the
number of Filipino helpers who had availed of the free test.
But in a press release the day before, the CHP said 57 blood
samples had been collected from participants, and that they would be informed of
the results individually.
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Earlier this month, the CHP offered free measles vaccination
at Chek Lap Kok airport, also to Filipino domestic workers. The three-day
testing was conducted on Apr 30, May 2 and 7, in the non-restricted area of the
airport.
The pilot study was limited to 200 vaccinations.
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| Measles infection has been unusually high among airport workers |
However, the free measles vaccinations continue to be given
daily to airport workers as the number of infections among them has been unusually
high. Of the more than 50 cases reported this year, about half involved airport workers, including two who had received three doses of the measles vaccine previously.
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The vaccination specifically targets airport staff born in
or after 1967 and have not received two doses of measles vaccination, have not
been previously infected with measles, or have laboratory evidence of testing
not positive against measles antibody.
Also, since March this year, the CHP has been sending
letters to employment agencies in Hong Kong ,
enlisting their support for the vaccination of Filipino domestic workers
against measles.
The center cited the recent increase in measles cases in
some Southeast Asian countries, especially the Philippines
It said measles remained a common disease in many parts of
the world. In the Philippines
The CHP urged the agencies to advise helpers to get the
vaccine before returning to Hong Kong from a
vacation, and require new hires to get the two dosage of anti-measles shots
before coming to the city.
However, many of the confirmed cases of measles infection in
Hong Kong involve local people who did not
travel abroad during the incubation period, and had not reported being in
contact with an infected person.
This was the case in the latest two cases reported on May
14. The first patient is a 27-year-old woman with good past health who said
she had measles vaccination and did not travel outside Hong
Kong during the incubation and communicable period.
The second case involves a 31-year-old man in good health
who also had measles vaccination, and had not traveled abroad during the
incubation period.
Measles is spread airborne by droplet or direct contact with
nasal or throat secretions of infected persons. The symptoms include tiredness,
fever, cough, red eyes, white spots inside the mouth and red blotchy skin rash.
In severe cases, the disease can spread to the lung, gut and brain, leading to
serious consequences or even death.
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