First chikungunya fever case in 6 years raises transmission risk in Hong Kong

Health authorities in Hong Kong have not ruled out the possibility of local chikungunya fever transmissions after the city recorded its first imported case of the mosquito-borne disease since 2019, involving a boy who returned from outbreak-hit Foshan in mainland China. The Centre for Health Protection confirmed the case on Saturday, weeks after a surge in infections was recorded in neighbouring Guangdong province. Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the centre’s communicable disease branch, said the 12-year-old patient had travelled with his mother to Shunde district in Foshan between July 17 and 30, during which he was bitten by mosquitoes. The boy, who lives in On Tat Estate in Kwun Tong, was in good health previously. On Thursday, he developed a fever, rash and joint pain and visited a private doctor before being admitted to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong the following day. A blood sample tested positive for the disease on Saturday morning. The boy was in a stable condition, Au said, adding that his mother and another family member who was living with them had not shown any symptoms. “There is a lot of traffic between Hong Kong and Guangdong, so we believe that the risk of imported cases is high when there is an outbreak in Guangdong,” he said. “We do not rule out the possibility of local transmission in Hong Kong if there are some imported cases. The risk is medium to high,” he said, adding that the chances of a local outbreak depended on how well the city performed in eradicating mosquitoes. Au noted that Guangdong had recorded about 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever, with nearly 90 per cent of them in Shunde. But he added that there was no need to worry too much as the disease, with an incubation period of three to eight days, led to mild symptoms in most of the cases. He urged residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites while travelling outside the city, and seek doctors’ help if they developed symptoms after returning to Hong Kong. Au said the government was working with the Hospital Authority to enhance the city’s testing capabilities. “The testing reagents we have in Hong Kong are sufficient to cope if there are some small-scale outbreaks in the future,” he said, adding that there was no need for a large-scale or citywide testing at present. The authority said on Saturday that public hospitals had implemented special measures and enhanced patient monitoring following the detection of the imported case. Emergency departments and outpatient clinics were reminded to enhance monitoring of patients with relevant symptoms such as fever and severe joint pain, and would strictly implement patient screenings, including travel history, whether patients had visited places with confirmed cases, and whether they had been bitten by mosquitoes, to identify suspected cases early. Once suspected cases were identified, public hospitals would arrange to send patient samples to the Centre for Health Protection for testing as soon as possible, with confirmed cases to be provided with appropriate treatment promptly. “The Hospital Authority will maintain close communication with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the situation, and can mobilise more beds and manpower to care for patients when necessary,” a spokesman said. The authority had sufficient antipyretic and related medicines to treat patients, he said. Lawmaker Frankie Ngan Man-yu said many housing estates in Kwun Tong were built on hillsides, including the boy’s On Tat Estate. He said poor environmental sanitation, stagnant water and garbage could cause mosquitoes to breed easily. Ngan added that he would continue to work with authorities to carry out mosquito control measures in estates. In Macau, six imported and one local case of chikungunya fever have been recorded since mid-July. Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong visited Foshan earlier this week, urging residents to “strictly implement port health quarantine measures”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday. Liu told city authorities to “improve prevention and control measures”, “effectively eliminate mosquitoes” and “cut off epidemic spread channels”, the report said. Chikungunya fever is spread by Aedes albopictus mosquito bites, with cases typically developing fever and joint pain that can last for a long period. Other potential symptoms include muscle pain, nausea and rashes. The disease is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, rather than between people. Severe symptoms and deaths from chikungunya fever are rare and usually occur in young babies or elderly people with other coexisting health problems. Infectious disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung said implementing proper anti-mosquito measures at cargo places and patients’ residences or workplaces could prevent the virus from gaining a foothold in the city. He warned earlier that any potential outbreak in the city could be on a large scale, due to weak immunity levels among the population. “After being infected, some people mistakenly believe they’ll feel better in a few days, but that’s not the case. The joint inflammation and swelling can persist for more than three months in about 40 per cent of patients,” he said. Hong Kong last recorded cases of chikungunya fever in 2019, with 11 patients. The city also reported two cases in 2018, one in 2017 and eight in 2016. All cases between 2016 and 2019 were imported. According to the World Health Organization, cases have been recorded in more than 110 countries and regions. As of early June this year, more than 220,000 cases had been reported in 14 countries and regions, including the mainland, Taiwan and Singapore, which were popular tourist destinations for Hongkongers. Of these cases, about 80 were fatal. The word “chikungunya” comes from the east African language Kimakonde and means “to become contorted”. It has been used to describe the stooped appearance of infected patients suffering from joint pain. The virus was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania. It then spread to other sub-Saharan countries and Southeast Asia. Additional reporting by Sammy Heung

First chikungunya fever case in 6 years raises transmission risk in Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Boy, 12, returned from mainland city in Guangdong province hit by outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease

Boy, 12, returned from mainland city in Guangdong province hit by outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease