https://www.scmp.com/rss/328603/feed Ria Sinha trained as an infectious disease scientist at Imperial College London and Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands, and is currently a lecturer in the Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. Her interdisciplinary teaching and research considers the complex and dynamic sociocultural, ecological, technological, and scientific determinants of infectious disease emergence and management. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ria Sinha Ria Sinha Just before news broke in July of a chikungunya outbreak in Foshan, Guangdong province, I was on a field trip with a group of students in Pok Fu Lam. It was a sultry day; recent rains had increased the humidity. It was impossible not to sweat. As we made our first stop to begin an activity, the mosquitoes began to gather and feast. We were not unprepared. Mosquito repellent and loose long clothing had been recommended for the day. Still, itchy red bumps started to appear. As the day went on, so... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322618/why-hong-kong-cannot-let-its-guard-down-mosquito-borne-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322618/why-hong-kong-cannot-let-its-guard-down-mosquito-borne-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000 The news this week of at least 75 imported cases of malaria in Hong Kong – and the deaths of two inbound travellers, one while in mandatory Covid-19 quarantine – is seemingly at odds with the image of a hi-tech, medically advanced city. All the imported cases originated in Africa, according to the Centre for Health Protection, yet Hong Kong has its own long and deadly history of malaria that has largely been forgotten. Indeed, as scholars have noted, malaria once dominated the local disease... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3188675/how-hong-kong-won-its-150-year-struggle-against-malaria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3188675/how-hong-kong-won-its-150-year-struggle-against-malaria?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2022 22:45:21 +0000 Having coffee in central Hong Kong is now a different experience from eight months ago. My temperature is checked before ordering, a mask must be worn when not eating or drinking, the table I sit at is well spaced from others and only two people can enjoy this break together. We have become uneasily accustomed to this ritual, and apart from some mild personal inconvenience, there is no lasting effect from such social distancing measures. Yet before I am seated, my table has been liberally... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3097027/covid-19-hygiene-are-we-sanitising-our-way-next-health-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3097027/covid-19-hygiene-are-we-sanitising-our-way-next-health-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2020 01:15:18 +0000 With 28 local cases of dengue fever confirmed in August, Hong Kong’s fevered history is rebounding in the present. According to the World Health Organisation, 40 per cent of the global population is at risk of dengue, with Asia at the epicentre. Last month’s outbreak in Hong Kong was the worst in recent times. Despite the city’s much-vaunted epidemic surveillance system and a widely publicised anti-mosquito offensive, there is a public perception that health authorities have been caught off... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2163584/why-dengue-fever-prevention-calls-attention-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2163584/why-dengue-fever-prevention-calls-attention-big?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Sep 2018 04:00:45 +0000