Hong Kong’s health authority braces for arrival of Zika virus; warn of mosquitoes spreading the disease
Authorities are taking pre-emptive action against disease that has spread through South America, expect to see ‘infection cases imported’
Hong Kong’s health authority is planning to make the reporting of suspected Zika virus cases mandatory after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a special meeting next week to decide whether the infectious disease should be declared an international health emergency given it is “spreading explosively”.
Local experts said they expected to see a few imported cases soon and warned that mosquito species in the city can spread the virus once they bite and catch it from a patient.
The WHO said there is currently no vaccine or treatment for the virus, a major cause for concern given the projections of 4 million infections in the Americas alone within the next year.
“I believe there will be a few infection cases imported into Hong Kong given that the city is an international hub ...”
The WHO called the special session in part to convey its concern about an illness that has sown fear among many would-be mothers, after mounting evidence from Brazil suggesting infection in pregnant women is linked to abnormally small heads in their babies – a brain-damaging birth defect called microcephaly.
“I believe there will be a few infection cases imported into Hong Kong given that the city is an international hub,” said University of Hong Kong’s microbiologist Ho Pak-leung.
Although Hong Kong sees no threat from Aedes aegypti mosquito – an insect common in South America that is spreading the virus – Ho said another species commonly found in the city, the Aedes albopictus, could also carry the disease.
“If there is a local case, the Aedes albopictus mosquito can spread the virus after it has bitten the patient,” Ho said. “This is why it is important for the health officials to track infected individuals at early stage, and maintain mosquito control.”
He explained the virus causes no more than a mild illness in most people – a majority of 75 per cent people infected with the virus would not display any symptoms at all, while 25 per cent may suffer mild fever and rashes.