(Hong Kong, 27th) The first local case of Chikungunya has been detected in Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Government Gazette, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced that as of Sunday (October 26) at 4pm, Hong Kong has recorded its first local case of Chikungunya.
The CHP stated that the case involves an 82-year-old woman residing in Fung Tak Estate, Wong Tai Sin. She developed swelling and pain in her left ankle on October 18, and on October 22 developed a fever and joint pain in her hands and feet. On the same day, she visited a private doctor. On October 23, she went to the Accident and Emergency Department at Kwong Wah Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment in a mosquito-free environment. She is currently in stable condition.
Her blood sample tested positive for Chikungunya virus. Preliminary investigation shows that she had traveled to Qingyuan city, Guangdong Province in late August, but had not traveled outside Hong Kong during the incubation period (two to twelve days before onset), indicating this is a locally acquired infection. She has four household contacts, who have not shown any symptoms so far and are under medical surveillance.
In response to this local case, the CHP convened an inter-departmental meeting with multiple departments and related agencies, including Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Wong Tai Sin District Office, and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, to ensure the prompt and orderly implementation of various control measures.
As of 5pm on Sunday, Hong Kong had recorded 46 confirmed cases of Chikungunya this year, all classified as imported cases; none of the 46 patients reside near the patient of this local case. Given that the 82-year-old patient's activities are mainly confined to the estate, the CHP does not rule out the possibility that there are undiagnosed cases in the district who have transmitted the virus to local mosquitoes, leading to her infection.
The CHP is conducting prevention and control work based on epidemiological investigations and risk assessment, including providing medical surveillance and health advice to the case's household contacts and those who may have been exposed to the source of infection. If they develop relevant symptoms, the CHP will arrange laboratory testing.
Staff from the centre and the district's Care Team will contact around 8,000 households in the area to conduct surveys and follow up on their health conditions. The CHP urges residents who develop fever, rash, or joint pain symptoms since October 1 to seek medical attention as soon as possible or contact the centre. The CHP has also joined FEHD staff in field inspections around the patient's residence for vector investigations and mosquito control, to reduce the risk of local transmission.
According to the Hong Kong Government Gazette, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced that as of Sunday (October 26) at 4pm, Hong Kong has recorded its first local case of Chikungunya.
The CHP stated that the case involves an 82-year-old woman residing in Fung Tak Estate, Wong Tai Sin. She developed swelling and pain in her left ankle on October 18, and on October 22 developed a fever and joint pain in her hands and feet. On the same day, she visited a private doctor. On October 23, she went to the Accident and Emergency Department at Kwong Wah Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment in a mosquito-free environment. She is currently in stable condition.
Her blood sample tested positive for Chikungunya virus. Preliminary investigation shows that she had traveled to Qingyuan city, Guangdong Province in late August, but had not traveled outside Hong Kong during the incubation period (two to twelve days before onset), indicating this is a locally acquired infection. She has four household contacts, who have not shown any symptoms so far and are under medical surveillance.
In response to this local case, the CHP convened an inter-departmental meeting with multiple departments and related agencies, including Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Wong Tai Sin District Office, and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, to ensure the prompt and orderly implementation of various control measures.
As of 5pm on Sunday, Hong Kong had recorded 46 confirmed cases of Chikungunya this year, all classified as imported cases; none of the 46 patients reside near the patient of this local case. Given that the 82-year-old patient's activities are mainly confined to the estate, the CHP does not rule out the possibility that there are undiagnosed cases in the district who have transmitted the virus to local mosquitoes, leading to her infection.
The CHP is conducting prevention and control work based on epidemiological investigations and risk assessment, including providing medical surveillance and health advice to the case's household contacts and those who may have been exposed to the source of infection. If they develop relevant symptoms, the CHP will arrange laboratory testing.
Staff from the centre and the district's Care Team will contact around 8,000 households in the area to conduct surveys and follow up on their health conditions. The CHP urges residents who develop fever, rash, or joint pain symptoms since October 1 to seek medical attention as soon as possible or contact the centre. The CHP has also joined FEHD staff in field inspections around the patient's residence for vector investigations and mosquito control, to reduce the risk of local transmission.