CHP investigates case of mad honey poisoning
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (November 6) investigating a case of mad honey poisoning, and reminded the public to buy honey from a reliable source or apiary.
A 44-year-old female developed bradycardia, hypotension and dizziness around 30 minutes after consuming honey on October 31. She attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Queen Mary Hospital and was admitted for treatment. The patient was in stable condition and discharged on November 1. Her clinical diagnosis was mad honey poisoning.
Grayanotoxin was detected in the honey remnant and the patient's urine sample upon testing.
Initial enquiries revealed that the patient brought the honey from Nepal to Hong Kong. The CHP's investigations are ongoing.
"Mad honey poisoning is caused by ingestion of honey containing grayanotoxins derived from plants belonging to the Ericaceae family, including rhododendrons. Grayanotoxins are neurotoxins which can affect nerves and muscles. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, weakness, excessive perspiration, hypersalivation and paraesthesia shortly after ingestion. In severe cases, hypotension, bradycardia or shock may occur," a spokesman for the CHP explained.
Members of the public are reminded to take heed of the following preventive advice:
Buy honey from a reliable source or apiary;
Discard honey with a bitter or astringent taste - grayanotoxin-containing honey may cause a burning sensation in the throat; and
Pay special attention to honey from India, Nepal and the Black Sea region of Türkiye as there have been grayanotoxin poisoning cases connected with honey from these areas.
GBA legal sectors gather at DoJ's reception to call for expediting establishment of GBA lawyers' platform
The Department of Justice (DoJ) today (November 7) hosted the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Lawyers Exchange Reception, bringing together more than 150 participants from the legal sectors of the Mainland, Macao and Hong Kong, including representatives from the Guangdong Lawyers Association, the lawyers associations of the nine Mainland municipalities in the GBA, the Macao Lawyers Association, and Hong Kong legal professional bodies, as well as many GBA lawyers and various Legislative Council Members, to discuss the work of promoting the construction of rule of law in the GBA.
The Director-General of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province, Mr Chen Xudong, and the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Ms Leong Weng-in, also attended the event.
The DoJ consulted various stakeholders on the work of the GBA. The GBA lawyers considered that it is necessary to establish a platform as soon as possible to facilitate exchanges and capacity building among them to enable the industry to better participate in the development of the GBA.
The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, said that the establishment of the platform is not only an initiative in the Policy Address, but also an important measure in the DoJ's Action Plan on the Construction of Rule of Law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The platform aims to consolidate the professional strengths of the legal services in the GBA and foster mutual capacity development by leveraging the strengths of the GBA, thereby giving full play to the unique strengths of GBA lawyers and contributing to the high-quality development of the GBA.
Mr Cheung said it is an initial suggestion that the platform, with the GBA lawyers as key members, would serve three objectives:
(1) Promote training and professional exchanges among the GBA lawyers in a more systematic manner;
(2) Establish and develop the team of the GBA lawyers; and
(3) Build and promote the brand of GBA lawyers to contribute to the construction of foreign-related rule of law of the country.
He emphasised that once the details of the establishment of the platform are finalised, the DoJ looks forward to implementing the setting up as early as possible in response to the industry's strong demands.
He continued that the platform organisation, together with the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy to be launched shortly, will enable Hong Kong to fully harness the institutional strengths of the "one country, two systems" framework in response to the keen demands for the foreign-related legal talent in the region and beyond, and to grasp the opportunities in the GBA with a view to making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the country.
The Exchange Reception is one of the events on the fourth day, themed "Joint Contribution to the Construction of Rule of Law in the GBA" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2024.
GBA legal sectors gather at DoJ's reception to call for expediting establishment of GBA lawyers' platform Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
