Pneumonia checks for arrivals after Russian lab death

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong has heightened surveillance for arrivals from Russia following the death of a laboratory worker in the country from severe pneumonia of undetermined causes. This follows the World Health Organization (WHO) stating that they still do not know the cause of the pneumonia that led to the worker's death at an anti-plague research centre in Siberia, and that no case of plague had been registered.

The CHP mentions that they have not received any reports of such infections in residents or travellers arriving from Russia in recent months, and there is no evidence of ongoing transmissions associated with the case, according to the WHO's assessment. The CHP has implemented control and prevention measures, including enhanced health surveillance of passengers arriving from Russia at the airport, temperature checks at relevant flight gates, and health assessments for passengers showing symptoms.

Passengers who have visited Irkutsk Oblast of Siberia, Russia, within the past 14 days are urged to declare their travel history. Those showing symptoms of pneumonia will be transferred to a hospital for further testing. The CHP emphasizes that doctors and hospitals in the city should remain highly vigilant and strengthen surveillance.

Brief written by urgent.news from RTHK English's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.