Press Release
Situation report on atypical pneumonia
May 5, 2003
The following is jointly issued by the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority:
As at 1 pm today (May 5), there is an additional 8 patients confirmed to have atypical pneumonia following admission to public hospitals earlier. They include two healthcare workers from Prince of Wales Hospital. The remaining 6 are other patients and contacts of patients with atypical pneumonia.
A total of 930 patients have recovered from atypical pneumonia and have been discharged from public hospitals. Of them, 13 were discharged today. There are also 91 recovering patients who are in convalescence and preparation for discharge.
Most of the patients currently in hospital are showing positive responses to the treatment protocol. Seventy-seven patients are receiving treatment in intensive care unit.
Three patients died in United Christian Hospital (UCH), Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH) and Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH). This brought to 187 the total number of deaths relating to atypical pneumonia.
The deceased include three men who are aged from 66 to 86. Their information is as follows:
| Hospital | Patient's gender | Age |
| UCH | male # | 66 |
| AHNH | male # | 86 |
| PWH | male # | 83 |
| # denotes patient with a history of chronic diseases |
The cumulative figure for patients who have been admitted to public hospitals with atypical pneumonia since March 12 is as follows:
| Nature | Cumulative Number | Total No. of Discharged Patients |
Total No. of
Deaths * |
| Health care workers of Hospitals/Clinics and medical students |
366
(
2)
|
233
(
6)
|
187
(
3)
|
| Patients, family members & visitors |
1271
(
6)
|
697
(
7)
|
|
| Total |
1637
(
8) **
|
930
(
13)
|
| Suspected cases | 27 |
| * |
Most of the deaths occurred in individuals who have a history of chronic diseases, or were patients who sought treatment at a relatively late stage of infection. |
| ** |
There are 91 recovering patients in convalescence. |