Hong Kong Declares Scarlet Fever Outbreak

Hong Kong has declared an outbreak of scarlet fever, an illness potentially fatal among children, after hundreds were infected in the teeming city, the government said Tuesday.

A seven-year-old girl in the southern Chinese city died late last month while there have been more than 400 cases so far this year, a Centre for Health Protection spokesman told Agence France Presse Tuesday.

Hong Kong's 419 scarlet fever infections in 2011 are already the highest annual total in the city, and more than three times the figure for the whole of last year. There were 142 cases in the first half of June.

"We have seen an unusually high number of infection cases this year," the spokesman said, describing the situation as an "outbreak".

Local scientists said the outbreak may be linked to a deadly new strain of the disease which could make it more contagious than in the past.

A unique gene fragment was present in the bacteria's genome "which might contribute to increased transmissibility of this strain," said the health protection centre statement, released late Monday.

The new strain, discovered by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, appears to be resistant to antibiotics traditionally used to fight the illness, the spokesman added.

Children under 10 made up 93 percent of the reported cases and most of the infections were mild, the statement said.

Hong Kong is particularly nervous about infectious diseases following the 2003 SARS outbreak, which killed 300 people in the city and a further 500 worldwide.

The densely city populated city of seven million has also seen fatalities from multiple swine flu outbreaks.

Thomas Tsang, the health protection centre's controller, described the outbreak as an "epidemic", according to the South China Morning Post.

Mainland China and the former Portuguese enclave Macau, about an hour by ferry from Hong Kong, have also seen surges in scarlet fever cases "suggesting a regional phenomenon (is) at play," the government statement said.

Tse Hung-hing, former president and current board member of the Hong Kong Medical Association, said he expects more scarlet fever cases in the coming months.

"We are seeing a rising trend. We don't know how many more will come. We haven't seen the top yet," he told AFP.

"The bacteria are becoming more resistant to antibiotics traditionally used," Tse added.

Scarlet fever mainly affects children between the ages of two and eight. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, rashes and a "strawberry colored" tongue, and usually subside within 48 hours with appropriate antibiotic treatment.