This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Temperatures in many areas of Hong Kong dropped to single digits on Friday morning, with some reaching 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (35.6…
Hong Kong health authorities have urged the public to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine ahead of the next wave of the flu virus, as temperatures in the city dropped to their lowest so far this winter. The appeal by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on Saturday coincided with similar calls by an infectious…
About 300,000 Hong Kong residents will be offered free hepatitis B screenings early next year, as the city aims to meet a set of international goals to eliminate the disease as a public health threat by 2030. The screening scheme will run in parallel with authorities’ other measures to tackle hepatitis, as Hong Kong launched…
The emergence of a so-called “super flu” has gripped global headlines, prompting authorities in Hong Kong to urge residents to get vaccinated. Amid the spate of infections, a local research team also found that 99 per cent of residents lacked sufficient antibodies needed to protect themselves from the new strain. With many people travelling for…
Suckling pigs cooked too early and later contaminated by raw ingredients likely caused food poisoning among 31 guests, including a two-year-old, who attended a Chinese wedding banquet at an upscale hotel in Hong Kong, the Centre for Health Protection said on Wednesday. The guests, comprising 20 men and 11 women, developed abdominal pain and diarrhoea…
Hong Kong authorities have closed hiking trails on Tsing Yi for large-scale mosquito control after five local cases of chikungunya fever were detected among recent visitors. The Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday that the fact members of the public continued to be infected after visiting the Tsing Yi Nature Trails – despite a…
Hong Kong has recorded one additional locally acquired case of chikungunya fever involving a woman who went hiking in Tsing Yi, bringing the total number of confirmed local cases of the mosquito-borne disease this year to 10. The Centre for Health Protection said on Saturday that it had recorded a new local case as of…
Global warming and globalisation have significantly increased the number of imported dengue fever cases in Hong Kong, health experts have said, with annual infections rising from dozens to more than 100 in the past two decades. This rapid increase has occurred alongside a growing risk of mosquito-borne diseases in the city. So far this year,…
Autumn might be around the corner, but Hong Kong’s “summer” flu season has only just started and could overlap with the typical winter surge. Everyone in the city should heed the call from health officials urging vaccinations to protect the community. Flu normally has a summer run from July or August and a break before…
Hong Kong may experience an overlap of the summer and winter flu seasons amid a recent surge in outbreaks at schools, with experts urging residents, especially vulnerable groups, to get vaccinated. Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection, joined the growing calls on Saturday,…