Hong Kong Flu
#4
Join Date: May 2004
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Not again...I remember the Hong Kong flu back in the 60? 70s? It was a really bad flu. My parents sent my sister and I out-of-state to my grandparents' house so that we hopefully wouldn't be affected by it because that's how bad it was in my area. Thank goodness we escaped it, but a few friends didn't and died. Happy Travels!
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
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As of today, I could not find any travel warnings or travel alerts regarding this on http://travel.state.gov/. According to the WHO website, the current “Pandemic” risk is at 3, which means “no or very little human to human transmission”. See http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian.../en/index.html. However, the “outbreak” in Hong Kong does not appear to have been deemed to be of sufficient magnitude to be included in WHO’s disease outbreak update list at http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/
There is nothing on the US government’s “pandemic” website (did you know we have one?!) see http://www.pandemicflu.gov/index.html
I live in Hong Kong and would say the situation is extremely normal here. (And these are people who panic, we have had SARS and the bird flu.) The flu has affected several young children, primarily in the Teun Mun area in the northwest New Territories. Unfortunately several children have died and as a result of pressure from parents, the primary schools have been closed here (all schools were scheduled to be closed starting at Easter for a break anyway). I have not noticed an appreciably great number of people wearing face masks here (you do see that, it is as much for the ambient air pollution as for the flu). As of today, there is nothing on the US Embassy website in Hong Kong regarding this, see http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/.
Many people here are actually referring to this as the bird flu, as the symptoms have apparently been similar, but I don’t know that any diagnosis has been made. In any event, you might want to see the Avian Flu Fact Sheet http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/...alth_1181.html
There is nothing on the US government’s “pandemic” website (did you know we have one?!) see http://www.pandemicflu.gov/index.html
I live in Hong Kong and would say the situation is extremely normal here. (And these are people who panic, we have had SARS and the bird flu.) The flu has affected several young children, primarily in the Teun Mun area in the northwest New Territories. Unfortunately several children have died and as a result of pressure from parents, the primary schools have been closed here (all schools were scheduled to be closed starting at Easter for a break anyway). I have not noticed an appreciably great number of people wearing face masks here (you do see that, it is as much for the ambient air pollution as for the flu). As of today, there is nothing on the US Embassy website in Hong Kong regarding this, see http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/.
Many people here are actually referring to this as the bird flu, as the symptoms have apparently been similar, but I don’t know that any diagnosis has been made. In any event, you might want to see the Avian Flu Fact Sheet http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/...alth_1181.html