The CHP and the Department of Health received a report that an unnamed 78-year-old woman was diagnosed with the virulent streptococcus suis disease when she was admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital in Mong Kok on August 8.

The woman came down with the infection on August 3 and was admitted to the hospital with a fever and pain in her right hip, doctors said.

The woman, a resident of Mong Kok, is listed in stable condition. She has not left Hong Kong, and there are no signs that she has infected anyone in her household, said health authorities.

CHP staff were interviewing the patient, her family and Kwong Wah hospital staff Wednesday night for further information on her condition and treatment.

The pig disease was brought to international attention last month after mainland authorities revealed that the strain had infected scores and killed at least 39 people in Sichuan province.

In an Associated Press report Wednesday, it was revealed that mainland officials are trying to track down customers who were sold infected meat sent to a Guangdong market by a woman whose husband was infected last Thursday while butchering sick pigs.

A man from Yangjiang in Guangdong province had contracted the disease through a wound in his hand while butchering pigs last Thursday, said AP.

Since June, 39 people have died, and officials suspect that 214 have been sickened by the disease.

More than 29,000 kilograms of infected pork have been seized in China and 532 meat vendors have lost their licenses for selling infected pork in Sichuan, Xinhua said Wednesday.

Guangdong provincial health department deputy director general Huang Fei told The Standard Tuesday that, despite two infections in the province, Guangdong is not likely to face a disease epidemic.

Members of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong last week conducted a survey that showed 70 percent of 533 people interviewed had ``stopped buying'' or ``bought less'' pork since the outbreak in late June.

Hong Kong health officials have announced in the past that they will remain vigilant and monitor the sales of pork products.

Streptococcus suis can cause meningitis, blood poisoning and pneumonia, but most cases are treatable with antibiotics.