The Health Bureau (SSM) issued a statement yesterday saying that it is paying close attention to fatal cases of pneumonia in Russia’s southeastern Siberia near Mongolia, but noted that the overall risk posed to Macau remains low.
According to the statement, the bureau is closely monitoring recent media reports of deaths from pneumonia of unknown cause in Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia. According to the latest information obtained by the World Health Organisation (WHO) from Russian authorities, the statement said, no cases of plague have been recorded in the region, nor has any evidence been found of other cases of pneumonia of unknown cause linked to the incident or of sustained transmission.
As the pathogen that caused the deaths has not yet been identified, uncertainty surrounding the incident remains. The WHO has stated that it will continue to monitor developments closely and will assess the public health risk and impact once further information becomes available, the statement noted.
The bureau will continue to monitor the development of the incident closely while maintaining the exchange of information with the WHO and health authorities in neighbouring regions, the statement said. It added that the bureau has already put in place an emergency contingency plan for major infectious diseases, possessing both the mechanisms and capacity for routine surveillance of, and response to, infectious disease threats.
As the overall risk currently posed to Macau by the incident remains low, the bureau will, as a precautionary measure and out of an abundance of caution, step up key measures to safeguard the health of Macau residents, the statement said.
These measures include strengthening prevention and control measures at border checkpoints, carrying out temperature monitoring and health assessments for travellers at all immigration checkpoints to identify suspected infectious disease cases early, and implementing a voluntary health declaration system. Under this system, individuals who have visited Irkutsk Oblast within 14 days prior to entry must proactively declare this to on-site health quarantine personnel and cooperate with arrangements for medical screening.
The bureau will also proactively remind medical institutions and healthcare professionals to remain vigilant. Any cases presenting with pneumonia of unknown cause in patients who have visited Irkutsk Oblast within 14 days prior to the onset of illness must be reported immediately for testing to proactively identify suspected cases, the statement added.
“Oblast” means “region” in Russian. Irkutsk Oblast, which has a population of 2.37 million, covers 774,846 km2, about the size of Turkey, which has 88 million inhabitants.
