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Pneumonia in China: lack of information raises concerns among Hong Kong health workers

BMJ 2020; 368 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m56 (Published 08 January 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;368:m56
  1. Jane Parr
  1. Hong Kong

An outbreak of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China, has prompted authorities in neighbouring Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan to step up border surveillance, amid fears that it could signal the emergence of a new and serious threat to public health.

On 5 January local, provincial, and national health commissions reported a cluster of 59 reported cases centred around the South China Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people and the capital of Hubei province. They had already ruled out known influenza viruses and the two coronaviruses known to cause severe acute respiratory illness (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome.

The limited information that has been released by mainland Chinese authorities is causing unease among the general population and healthcare workers in Hong Kong. The city has a strong collective memory of the SARS outbreak in 2003, which …

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