The hotline will be operated to 9pm today and from 9am to 5pm tomorrow onwards.
The appeal followed a report of suspected mercury poisoning involving an 11-month-old baby boy who had taken the product concerned and was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on May 25 for management. He was discharged on June 1.
Investigations revealed that the product was bought by his mother from a man in Kowloon City. The baby boy was fed with 10 packs of the product concerned between November 2006 and April this year.
Chemical analysis of the product remnant by the Toxicology reference Laboratory of the Hospital Authority revealed that the product contained mercury at a concentration of 1228 parts per million (ppm). Blood tests done by Tuen Mun Hospital showed that blood mercury level of the baby boy was on the high side.
Mercury poisoning is an illness that is caused by overdose of mercury in the body. Mercury causes damage mainly to the nervous systems and kidney. Symptoms may include tremor, irritability, insomnia, memory deterioration, difficulty with concentrating, impaired hearing and vision or change in taste. In most severe cases, renal failure may occur and causes oedema especially on the ankles and legs.
As a precautionary measure, members of the public who have been using the product concerned should stop using it immediately and seek advice from their doctors as soon as possible.
Anyone who is in possession of the product should dispose of it or submit it to the Pharmaceutical Service of DH at 3/F, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon during office hours.
Reprinted from HKSAR Government web page:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200706/02/P200706020244.htm