Two more fall ill in HK after visiting Wuhan

Tests are being conducted on the two patients at Princess Margaret Hospital to see if they have contracted the same illness that has sickened 44 people in Wuhan. File photo: RTHK

Two more people are being treated in isolation at a local hospital after coming down with fever and pneumonia symptoms consistent with a mystery illness that has sickened 44 in Wuhan.



A woman and a girl, 41 and 12, fell ill after visiting the central mainland city within the past two weeks.



The Hospital Authority says tests are being conducted.



"The patients concerned are in stable condition. A preliminary investigation shows that both patients had not been to a wet market in Wuhan before the onset of symptoms," said chief infection control officer, Dr Raymond Lai, of the Hospital Authority.



In addition to the latest two, five people in total have been isolated in local public hospitals since December 31, with two having already been discharged.



Experts say the disease bears similarities to the Sars outbreak of 2003.



The latest development comes as authorities in Wuhan reported that the number of people affected by the mystery illness has risen to 44 from the earlier figure of 27, with 11 of the patients in a serious condition.



But they said there was no reported human-to-human transmission and no medical staff have been infected.



The Sars epidemic in 2003 infected more than 1,700 people in Hong Kong and killed almost 300.



The disease, which is from the same family of viruses as the common cold, emerged in Guangdong province at the end of 2002. It spread to more than 30 countries infecting over 8,000 people, with 744 deaths in total.