Hong Kong reported its first case of chikungunya in six years, heightening concerns about the potential for local transmission of the mosquito-borne virus that can cause debilitating joint pain lasting for years.
The patient is a 12-year-old boy who developed fever, rash and joint pain after traveling to Foshan in Guangdong Province in July, according to the city’s public health agency. Hong Kong’s health authorities believe the boy was infected there, and is now being treated in a mosquito-free environment with his household under medical surveillance.
The imported case is the city’s first chikungunya infection since 2019. Foshan, a city just 90 minutes away by high-speed train, has seen over 6,500 people affected in the past few weeks. The outbreak has prompted another Chinese city to set up curbs reminiscent of the stringent approach from the pandemic era.
Fuzhou city in Fujian province started requiring travelers from Foshan to undergo a 14-day at-home quarantine. Macao, which in July reported an imported case involving a person who had travelled to Foshan, recorded a locally transmitted case on Aug 1  – stoking concerns of regional transmission.
Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department undertook targeted mosquito control operations at the patient’s residence, including fogging, removing stagnant water and distributing publicity leaflets to boost awareness.
Although the virus doesn’t spread from people to people, the disease can still spread if the infected person is bitten by mosquitoes, and if they in turn bite more people.
Hong Kong’s strict response to Covid-19 are still fresh in people’s minds. The city shut itself to the world for three years since the pandemic began in 2020, adopting stringent pandemic rules including travel restrictions, a mask mandate and quarantine camps.
Hundreds of thousands of people – including travelers and infected residents – were sent to isolate in government-run centres such as Penny’s Bay, where they had to endure spartan living conditions and attempts to escape could result in jail time. Bloomberg
