Another Hong Kong school trip to mainland hit by gastroenteritis outbreak

Hong Kong health authorities are investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis among primary school students on a study tour to mainland China, marking the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks.

The Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday that five students on a trip organised by S.K.H. St Michael’s Primary School in Fortress Hill had symptoms of acute gastroenteritis.

More than 100 students and teachers from eight other schools on various study tours on the mainland have reported suffering from acute gastroenteritis symptoms over the past few weeks. The government last Friday set up a task force to respond to the surge of such outbreaks.

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In the latest outbreak, 63 students and seven teachers joined a trip to Xian in Shaanxi province from last Tuesday to Friday. The first case emerged on Friday morning, when a student began experiencing symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, including vomiting, on a bus journey.

Four students sitting nearby on the bus developed symptoms by Sunday.

Two of the students sought medical attention, although none required hospitalisation, the centre said. Preliminary investigations indicate that the symptoms were consistent with norovirus infection.

Norovirus infection typically causes acute gastroenteritis. It was also a common cause of food poisoning and was usually related to consumption of undercooked shellfish, the centre said.

It had arranged stool sample tests for the patients to confirm the diagnosis, a centre spokesman said.

According to the centre, the outbreak was likely to have been caused by person-to-person transmission or contact with an environment contaminated by vomit.

The centre said it had contacted everyone on the tour for health monitoring and currently no further cases were reported.

Advice on preventing and controlling gastroenteritis had been provided to the school. The epidemiological investigation was ongoing, the centre said.

Principal Chan Yu-kwan, who had joined the tour, told the media that eight students from the same class had experienced symptoms such as fever and vomiting, either during the final day of the trip or after returning to Hong Kong.

Five of them had since returned to school, he said. Chan said all meals during the trip were hot and appeared clean.

More from South China Morning Post:

• 6 more Hong Kong students ill with gastroenteritis on mainland China school trip
• Restaurants linked to gastroenteritis cases off-limits on Hong Kong school trips
• Hong Kong task force to look into gastroenteritis cases on mainland study trips

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