A 24-year-old foreign woman died in a Hong Kong hospital on Saturday due to an invasive meningococcal infection, the Center for Health Protection said.
The woman, who had previously been healthy, had a fever, chills, muscle and abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea since March 1, the center said in a statement. She lived alone and had no recent travel history.
She went to a private clinic on Saturday and was referred to the Accident and Emergency Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit. She died later that day.
Her blood sample collected on March 4 tested positive for Neisseria meningitidis. Her clinical diagnosis was septic shock.
The center did not disclose the nationality of the deceased woman.
This is the first confirmed case of invasive meningococcal infection, which is a communicable disease transmitted by direct contact with droplets from carriers or infected people, reported to the CHP this year. Six and five cases were reported in 2016 and 2015, respectively.