Health authorities have confirmed that the death of a 10-year-old schoolgirl was caused by a pathogen resistant to antibiotics, known as a pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.
The girl surnamed Lau – a Primary Five student at Heep Yunn School – died at about midnight on Sunday, according to a circular the school in Kowloon City sent to parents.
The girl fell sick on October 23 and saw a doctor the next day. She went to St Teresa’s Hospital in Kowloon City on October 25 but was transferred to Princess Margaret’s Hospital for an emergency operation the next day, according to a message circulated among WhatsApp groups reportedly sent from parents at the primary school.
The message said the girl suffered acute septicemia and pneumonia after catching the flu.
Laboratory tests on Wednesday showed that the girl was infected with pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of 12 families of bacteria listed by the World Health Organization as antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens”, Radio Television Hong Kong reported.
Serious pseudomonas infections usually occur in people in a hospital or with weakened immune systems.
Kwok Ka-ki, a lawmaker in the medical functional constituency, urged health authorities to check and disinfect the school, clinic and hospital that the girl visited and to find the source of the bacteria, Apple Daily reported.