Hong Kong steps up mosquito control measures after chikungunya fever case found
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The Housing Authority and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department stepped up anti-mosquito efforts at Kwun Tong's On Tat Estate and United Christian Hospital over the weekend.
The measures include setting up more traps, applying larvicidal oil in breeding spots, clearing stagnant water and grass near drainage holes, strengthening disinfection and conducting outreach efforts to remind residents to clean water from flower pots.
Authorities confirmed that a 12-year-old boy living on the estate had contracted chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease behind outbreaks in neighbouring Guangdong province.
'The mosquito infestation index in the area is relatively stable, but it is showing an upwards trend,' Hsu Yau-wai, a district councillor whose office is located within the same public housing estate, said on Sunday.
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He said that any residents concerned about the incident could seek help from him and the relevant government departments, adding that no one had approached him with concerns so far.
The city's first patient since 2019 had travelled with his mother to Foshan city's Shunde district between July 17 and 30, during which time he was bitten by mosquitoes.
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