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Two child deaths spark investigation in Hong Kong

Other News Materials 16 August 2008 08:38 (UTC +04:00)

(dpa) - The deaths of two children have sparked a health investigation in Hong Kong on fears the cause could be one virus, health officials said Saturday.

The girls, ages 3 and 9, both died after being admitted to hospital this week. The older girl had symptoms of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, while the younger had blood poisoning.

A third girl, 7, is in intensive care with encephalitis or brain inflammation.

Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said the cluster of cases raised an alarm and an investigation was being conducted.

He said a virus was believed to be the cause but at this stage, it was not known whether one single virus or different viruses were responsible.

Results of the investigation were expected next week. In the meantime, Tsang urged parents to pay attention to their children's health, especially if they developed persistent high fever and vomiting.

In March, the government forced the closure of all Hong Kong primary schools and kindergartens after the deaths of two children, 3 and 7, caused panic among parents who remembered the grim days of the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 299 in Hong Kong and 774 worldwide in 2002 and 2003.

At that time, millions of surgical-style face masks were sold in the territory and worn on the streets, in schools and in workplaces.

An investigation into this year's illnesses revealed the deaths were not the result of a new or more virulent virus but caused by strains of the H1N1 and H3N2 Brisbane virus, which had been circulating in different parts of the world earlier this year.

Hong Kong also saw the world's first modern-day outbreak of bird flu in 1997 when the virus infected 18 people, killing six of them.

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