Hong Kong has recorded its first local chikungunya fever case in at least 11 years, with health authorities warning that the 10,000 people who live in the same neighbourhood as the 82-year-old patient face higher risks of infection.
Authorities also announced on Sunday that anti-mosquito work would be stepped up across the city, especially around Fung Tak Estate in Diamond Hill, where the patient lives.
The woman, who had not travelled outside Hong Kong in the past 1½ months, was diagnosed with the mosquito-borne disease on Thursday.
“Generally, the flying range of Aedes albopictus [mosquitoes] is short. We draw a circle centred on the block in which the patient lives, with a radius of 200 metres. Residents of flats within this range are at risk of infection if they are bitten by mosquitoes,” said Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection.
“The range involves around 20 residential buildings, with around 8,000 households.”
Au estimated that the 8,000 households were home to more than 10,000 residents.
