Hong Kong considering buying vaccines for monkeypox despite ‘low risk’ of disease detected in city, health officials say

Hong Kong is considering purchasing vaccines for monkeypox even though the risk of the infectious disease being detected in the city is low, health officials have said.

The city has been on guard against the disease, after a number of countries outside endemic nations in West and Central Africa reported confirmed and suspected cases.

“We are carrying on our risk assessment. The risk is here but not high,” Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said on Thursday. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Director of health Dr Ronald Lam Man-kin said authorities were considering purchasing vaccines for protection against the disease.

“We are actively in touch with relevant pharmaceutical firms to see if there is any vaccine,” Lam said, adding that early identification, isolation and treatment were also important public health tools in combating the disease.

While the infection is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms such as fever, intense headache, swollen lymph nodes and rash, severe conditions could occur more commonly among children. The fatality rate could be up to around 10 per cent.

According to the Centre for Health Protection website, there is currently no vaccine or antiviral medication registered specifically for monkeypox in Hong Kong.

“In terms of vaccines or whether we have enough medication for treatment, if we have any of those cases, we are preparing. The Department of Health and the Hospital Authority are handling, [regardless of whether] it’s vaccine or medication,” Chan said, but did not reveal what types of vaccine or medication authorities were looking into.