Probe If Cathay Broke Rules On Measles: Expert

A top microbiologist has called on the authorities to find out if Cathay Pacific had broken regulations when it allowed a pilot to work on flights between Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore and Bangkok during a period when he could potentially infect others with measles.

Ho Pak-leung, from the University of Hong Kong, said under an International Air Transport Association (IATA) requirement, a person who is suffering from a communicable disease should not be allowed to fly.

"So I think there is a need for the Airport Authority to look into this. Also, four to five staff continued to work in the airport after they had symptoms of measles. So there could be many more people who could have been exposed," he said.

The authorities should collate details about areas where people who had measles worked or visited when they started getting the symptoms, he said, as that would help other workers assess the risk they face.

Ho told RTHK's Janice Wong that he also fears that the disease would become more widespread if any infected person visited a hospital facility where a large number of people vulnerable to the disease were present.

Hong Kong has seen a sudden jump in measles cases, to 20 this year so far compared to 15 cases for the whole of last year. Five of the latest nine patients all work at the airport or in the aviation industry.