Zhuhai and Hong Kong on alert mode

The Zhuhai Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has urged residents to take precautions against chikungunya fever. This mosquito-borne disease first emerged this year in Foshan and has since spread to the region, including Macau.

Chikungunya fever has now affected all three districts in Zhuhai, impacting eight neighborhoods.

While no cases have been reported in Hong Kong, authorities are preparing for the potential arrival of the disease.

Au Ka-wing, director of the communicable disease branch of Hong Kong’s Department of Health, indicated a medium to high risk of a local epidemic, especially with increased travel during the summer months, heightening the likelihood of imported cases.

Over 6,100 chikungunya cases have been reported in Guangdong province, with more than 4,000 in Foshan alone, prompting the city to raise its public health alert to Level 3.

Foshan is actively working to contain the outbreak by conducting nucleic acid tests on at-risk residents and releasing larva-eating fish into local water bodies.

Like dengue fever, chikungunya is transmitted by Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Staff reporter