The risk of importing the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus into Hong Kong is expected to rise, according to a senior health official, who has identified the increasing global prevalence of the disease caused by climate change and residents’ frequent summer travel as factors.
But Ronald Lam Man-kin, director of the Department of Health, sought on Sunday to reassure the public that the risk of local transmission would remain low, as long as proper disease control measures were in place.
According to the World Health Organization, local transmission of chikungunya has been recorded in more than 119 countries and regions. As of July, more than 240,000 cases had been reported, claiming about 90 lives worldwide, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Lam noted that the increasing global incidence of chikungunya has raised the potential for importation into Hong Kong.
“Due to the climate irregularities in recent years, mosquito reproduction during the windy and rainy seasons has been particularly active… Mosquitoes used to mostly live in tropical or subtropical areas, but because of climate change their distribution has extended to temperate areas,” he told a radio programme.
“In addition, as it is the summer holiday, many travel and some may get infected during their trips. When they return and are bitten by mosquitoes, it might lead to local transmissions.”