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Hong Kong butcher infected by pig-borne disease

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 22:03 CDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A butcher at one of Hong Kong's leading supermarket chains has contracted a pig-borne disease that has infected over 200 people and killed 39 in southwest China, the city's Health Department said.

The 44-year-old man, who was not identified, is the fourth person to become infected with the Streptococcus suis bacteria in Hong Kong since the outbreak in China was first reported in June, and the ninth person to catch the disease in the city this year.

The report of the new infection comes as fears grow that the disease has spread from Sichuan province to other parts of China, which supplies much of Hong Kong's food.

The butcher worked at a Wellcome Supermarket, which is part of one of Asia's oldest trading groups, Jardine Matheson Holdings, the Health Department said.

A spokeswoman for Wellcome said the supermarket chain buys its pork from a Hong Kong government slaughterhouse, which in turn gets its supplies from Ng Fung Hong, the city's major distributor of imported pork from China.

The spokeswoman said over the telephone that sales of pork had been suspended at the branch where the butcher worked but the meat was still on sale at its other locations.

"We're still trying to investigate how the butcher got infected," she said.

Calls to Ng Fung Hong, which is owned by Hong Kong-listed China Resources Enterprise Ltd., were not answered. A person who answered the phone at China Resources refused comment and referred all questions to Ng Fung Hong.

The Hong Kong man had not travelled to China recently but had earlier cut his finger, the Health Department said in a statement late on Tuesday, urging people to wear gloves when handling pigs or raw pork.

He was admitted to hospital on Tuesday with fever and pain in his finger and left thigh and is now in stable condition.

Those who have contracted the disease in Sichuan had slaughtered, handled or eaten infected pigs, though scientists say the bacteria can be killed if meat is thoroughly cooked.

On Monday, Hong Kong suspended imports of frozen pork from the central Chinese province of Henan and the southern boomtown of Shenzhen after authorities recalled some pork in Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong. The meat originated from Henan.

Imports of live pigs from those areas is still allowed but disease specialists said they should be banned immediately following the latest Hong Kong case.

Chinese authorities said tests showed the meat in Shenzhen was not contaminated with the pig-borne bacteria but Hong Kong health officials said they are still seeking explanations from the Chinese on why the meat was recalled.

Streptococcus suis is endemic in most pig-rearing countries but human infections are rare. Although China's state media have said no human-to-human infections have been found in Sichuan, the infection rate and death toll is considered unusually high.

Source: REUTERS

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