‘Mosquito control key to preventing chikungunya in Hong Kong as vaccine not yet approved'
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Dr Wong Hoi-kei, a senior medical and health officer from the Centre for Health Protection, also said on Monday that chikungunya fever was unlikely to become endemic in the city despite a medium to high risk of local transmission.
'The vaccine for chikungunya fever is still relatively new and has not been widely used in any countries,' he told a radio show.
'The World Health Organization and experts are still researching its safety and efficacy … the vaccine is only used on a small scale and very high-risk individuals for now.'
The most effective prevention was to avoid bites from mosquitoes and curb their breeding, Wong added.
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He also said that although the risk of imported cases of chikungunya fever was high, it remained 'within expectations' due to the frequency of travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong.
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