Fighting chikungunya in Hong Kong: why do experts reject mosquito ‘weaponising'?
chikungunya fever in Hong Kong is not a sustainable solution due to the costs involved and questions about its effectiveness, experts have said, citing the experience of Singapore.
Advertisement
Specialists said on Wednesday that Hong Kong should instead strengthen its existing measures used to combat the spread of diseases through the deployment of additional monitoring sites and big data collection.
They were responding to comments made on Tuesday by Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan, who said authorities planned to test biological control strategies deployed in the mainland Chinese city of Foshan, which is the epicentre of the current outbreak.
Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. While rarely fatal, it can lead to symptoms such as fever, rash, and joint pain.
The mainland's Guangdong province has recorded more than 8,000 new cases of chikungunya fever over the past three weeks, mostly in Foshan. Hong Kong, meanwhile, reported two new imported cases on Thursday, bringing the total to eight since August 2.
Advertisement
The latest cases involved a 50-year-old man and his eight-year-old daughter who had travelled to Bangladesh between July 20 and August 10.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China urged to boost space solar power technology efforts
China has been urged to speed up the development of solar power in space to gain a stronger footing in the new energy sector and the space race. Ge Changchun, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, called in an article for a top-down strategy to speed up efforts to develop the technology and narrow the gap with the United States in sectors such as materials and precision control. Space solar power facilities are designed to be built and operated in orbit, where they convert solar energy directly into electricity before transmitting the power to Earth via microwaves or lasers. Unlike ground-based solar plants, space stations are not affected by the weather or nightfall. Solar radiation in space is also far more intense than on Earth, making the technology a more efficient way of continuously generating power. China's research in this field relies primarily on efforts by universities and research institutions, but Ge wrote in an article for China Science Daily that they 'lack the capacity to support such a vast, complex systems project'. Compared with the United States, which conducted solar energy transmission experiments as early as the 1970s, China was relatively late in developing space solar power.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's top medical bosses taken to task after doctor abandons surgery to defend mistress
Several top university and hospital administrators in China have been held accountable after a noted thoracic surgeon left an anaesthetised patient for over half an hour to confront a nurse in defence of his mistress , a junior doctor. Advertisement The punishments respond to widespread public anger over the scandal, which broke in April, as well as questions about hospital management, professional ethics, and accountability within China's medical institutions. A total of 19 officials from five prestigious institutions had been disciplined, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Friday. The measures included severe warnings from the ruling Communist Party, disciplinary penalties, demotions and dismissals, it said. Party mouthpiece People's Daily welcomed the move, with a commentary published on Saturday calling the NHC's handling of the matter 'authoritative and serious'. The investigation and disciplinary measures helped to restore public confidence in the healthcare sector and medical practitioners, it added. Advertisement Institutions censured include the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), which have been ordered to rectify their practices.
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to deploy robotic dogs to combat chikungunya amid rising imported cases
Hong Kong will deploy robotic dogs as part of its enhanced mosquito-control efforts to curb the chikungunya virus, as the number of imported cases is expected to rise, the environment chief has said. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan revealed the new measure on Saturday after the number of imported cases of the mosquito-borne disease increased to nine the previous day. He said the government was exploring the use of new technology, including trialling a robotic dog next month. It will be used to carry and spray mosquito insecticide in rugged areas that are difficult for control teams to access on foot. 'Starting from next month, we will conduct a trial using a robotic dog to spray insecticide on hillsides and other places that are difficult for control teams to access,' he told a radio programme. 'This initiative is aimed at reducing burden on frontline staff during hot weather. If the trial proves successful, more robotic dogs will be deployed and the government will continue to research other new mosquito-control methods.' Tse added that the government's current mosquito-control measures were similar to those used during previous dengue fever outbreaks, saying he was confident the Chikungunya situation could be contained.
