Hong Kong’s primary strategy against chikungunya fever focuses on intensive eradication of mosquitoes, while ramping up public education on measures to prevent the virus from establishing itself in the city, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.

Hong Kong recorded three new cases of the mosquito-borne disease as of Monday, bringing the total number to 50, including a confirmed local case, so far.

Speaking before a weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said chikungunya fever is not transmitted among humans, but spreads through mosquito bites, with most infected individuals recovering naturally and fatalities are rare.

READ MORE: HK logs 9 chikungunya cases so far this year, all imported

“Our key task for containment is mosquito eradication and enhancing public awareness,” he said.

Lee outlined various measures being taken. The Environment and Ecology Bureau’s Pest Control Steering Committee met on Monday to strengthen interdepartmental preventive work against the disease, while the bureau’s secretary, Tse Chin-wan, has visited Wong Tai Sin District in Kowloon to inspect and guide mosquito prevention work.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has also launched cleaning and mosquito elimination operations around the residences of those infected, with inspections being carried out at schools, construction sites and other key locations.

Community health measures have also been implemented. Surveys have been conducted by care teams, medical stations have been set up in shopping malls, and online health talks have been held, with about 4,000 residents participating.

“Chikungunya fever is not endemic in Hong Kong,” Lee said. “We’re making every effort to prevent it from establishing itself locally.”

Yeung Tak-keung, head of the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong), said the governments of Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions are monitoring the mosquito-borne disease closely.  

Health authorities in the three regions are maintaining continuous surveillance, and relevant bodies are in close coordination to ensure the health and safety of all participants during the National Games next month.

Among the three new chikungunya patients is a 55-year-old female staff member of Rhenish Church Grace School at Fung Tak Estate, Wong Tai Sin, who reported having visited Shenzhen and staying in the Fung Tak area during the incubation period.

READ MORE: Hong Kong sees first case of chikungunya fever since 2019

The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a possible epidemiological link between this case and the first local case recorded on Sunday involving an 82-year-old Fung Tak Estate resident with no travel history during the incubation period, and developed symptoms on Oct 18.

The other two new imported cases include a 67-year-old man from Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung who had visited Foshan in Guangdong, and a 76-year-old Tseung Kwan O woman who had traveled to Guangzhou and Huizhou.

All the patients are hospitalized in mosquito-free environments and are in a stable condition.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com