Press Release

CHP notified of two additional imported cases of Zika Virus Infection in Mainland

7 March 2016

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (March 7) received notification of two additional imported cases of Zika Virus Infection in the Mainland from the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and again urged the public to adopt strict anti-mosquito measures during travel. Pregnant women and those planning pregnancy should consider deferring their trip to the affected areas.

The cases involve a 47-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter. They arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport from Venezuela on March 3 and were afebrile at the airport. They subsequently travelled to Enping, Jiangmen, Guangdong and developed fever and rash on March 5. They are now hospitalised for isolation and management and are in a stable condition. They did not pass through Hong Kong.

To date, 12 imported cases of Zika Virus Infection have been notified in the Mainland.

"Routine health surveillance on the body temperature of inbound travellers at all boundary control points is ongoing. Suspected cases will be referred to healthcare facilities for follow-up. However, at present, around 70 to 80 per cent of infected people are asymptomatic and most can recover fully. Therefore, we again urge those arriving from Zika-affected areas to apply insect repellent for 14 days upon arrival to reduce the risk of transmission," the spokesman for the DH said.

The DH has been closely working with the travel industry and stakeholders, especially agents operating tours in Zika-affected areas and personnel receiving travellers in those areas (particularly pregnant women), to regularly update them on the latest disease information and health advice.

As long as there is international travel, there is always a risk of the introduction of Zika virus to Hong Kong. As asymptomatic infection is very common and the potential vector, Aedes albopictus, is present locally, there is also risk of local spread if Zika is introduced to Hong Kong.

The public should pay special attention to the countries and areas with reported autochthonous Zika virus transmission or locally acquired infection and those with indication of viral circulation earlier announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The DH has been maintaining close liaison with the WHO as well as overseas, neighbouring and Mainland health authorities to closely monitor the latest developments of Zika.

Locally, no human Zika cases have been reported to the CHP to date.

To prevent Zika Virus Infection, in addition to general anti-mosquito measures, the DH drew the public's attention to the special notes below:

A. Reported/indication of autochthonous transmission and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and microcephaly (one)

Americas: Brazil;

B. Reported/indication of autochthonous transmission, GBS and no reports of microcephaly (seven)

Americas: Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Panama, Suriname

C. Reported/indication of autochthonous transmission and no reports of GBS or microcephaly (39)

Africa (two): Cape Verde, Gabon;
Americas (23): Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint-Martin, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands;
Southeast Asia (three): Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand;
Western Pacific (11): American Samoa, Cambodia, Fiji, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Laos;

D. Locally acquired without vector-borne transmission (three)

Americas (one): the United States; and
Europe (two): France and Italy.

So far, Zika virus is not yet proven to be a cause of the increased incidence of microcephaly in Brazil. However, given the temporal and geographical associations between Zika virus infections and microcephaly, the repeated discovery of virus in fetal brain tissue, and in the absence of a compelling alternative hypothesis, a causal role for Zika virus is a strong possibility which is under active investigation.

Similarly, Zika virus is yet to be proved to be the cause of the increased GBS incidence in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Suriname or Venezuela, though strongly suspected given the recent findings in French Polynesia. Confounding factors include the contemporary circulation of dengue and chikungunya in the Americas, which are transmitted by the same species of mosquito. Further investigations are needed to identify the potential role of other factors known to be associated, or potentially associated, with GBS.

The latest WHO Zika update can be accessed at its website ( www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/situation-report/en ).

"The public should pay special attention to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission (affected areas) and observe our ongoing health advice and special notes during travel," a spokesman for the DH said.

To prevent Zika, in addition to general anti-mosquito measures, the DH drew the public's attention to the special notes below:

A. Travelling abroad

• If going to areas with ongoing Zika transmission (affected areas), travellers, especially those with immune disorders or severe chronic illnesses, should arrange consultation with a doctor at least six weeks before the trip, and take extra preventive measures to avoid mosquito bites;
• Those arriving from affected areas should apply insect repellent for 14 days upon arrival. If feeling unwell, e.g. having fever, they should seek medical advice as soon as possible, and provide travel details to a doctor;

B. Pregnant women and those preparing for pregnancy

• Pregnant women and those preparing for pregnancy should consider deferring their trip to affected areas. Those who must travel should seek medical advice from their doctor before the trip, adopt contraception if appropriate, strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip, and consult and reveal their travel history to their doctor if symptoms develop after the trip. Women preparing for pregnancy are advised to continue to adopt contraception for 28 days after returning from these areas;

C. Special notes for prevention of sexual transmission regarding potential adverse pregnancy outcomes

• Pregnant women should not have sex with male partners who have travelled to affected areas, or else condoms should be used throughout the pregnancy;
• Any male traveller returning from affected areas should:

(i) abstain from sex with his pregnant partner, or else use condoms throughout the pregnancy; and
(ii) use a condom for at least six months if his female partner may get pregnant.

The public may visit the pages below for more disease information and health advice:

• The CHP's Zika page ( www.chp.gov.hk/en/view_content/43086.html );
• The Zika page of the DH's Travel Health Service ( www.travelhealth.gov.hk/english/popup/popup_zika.html );
• The Outbound Travel Alert page of the Security Bureau ( www.sb.gov.hk/eng/ota ); and
• Anti-mosquito precautions for women ( www.fhs.gov.hk/english/health_info/woman/30014.html ).