The Health Bureau (SSM) held a press conference titled “Dengue Fever and Chikungunya Prevention and Control” yesterday, revealing that it carried out 7,400 inspections targeting potential mosquito breeding sites across the city in the first half of the year.
The press conference was held at the Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre complex.
Leong Iek Hou, who heads the bureau’s Disease Control and Prevention Centre (CDC), said that to eliminate mosquito breeding, 1,220 chemical mosquito control operations were carried out in the first six months of this year, targeting 140 high-risk sites across Macau. Additionally, aiming to promote community awareness of dengue fever prevention, eleven public education stations have been set up in the peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, according to Leong.
Leong pointed out that neither dengue fever nor chikungunya can spread directly between people as they are transmitted only when an Aedes albopictus mosquito first bites an infected person and then bites an uninfected individual.
Dengue fever typically causes symptoms four to seven days after the infectious bite, while chikungunya develops faster, usually within two to three days, she said.
Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans primarily through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes.
Asked about related virus testing services from reporters, Leong said that since dengue fever, chikungunya and the zika virus are not common infectious diseases in Macau, there are only a few institutions capable of conducting such tests. However, Leong noted that the Public Health Laboratory provides free dengue, chikungunya and zika testing services for various medical institutions and private doctors in Macau, Leong said.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IAM) Department of Environment and Licencing Chief Kenny Fong Vai Seng said at the press conference that the bureau would intensify its mosquito control efforts this month, increasing from the usual twice-monthly operations, from March to November, to three times per month, in coordination with the Health Bureau’s (SSM) enhanced campaign to prevent dengue fever transmission risks.
During the press conference, the Health Bureau and Municipal Affairs Bureau urged the public to maintain environmental hygiene, eliminate stagnant water, and implement mosquito prevention measures to reduce the risk of infectious disease transmission.
One more imported chikungunya case
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau announced in a statement last night that it confirmed one more imported chikungunya case, the second such case recorded in Macau so far this year.
The statement noted that the patient is a 33-year-old female visitor, residing in Nanhai District of Foshan City, Guangdong Province. Nanhai lies some 120 km north of Macau. She entered Macau at noon on Monday and developed a fever and a rash that same afternoon, prompting immediate medical attention at the private Kiang Wu Hospital. Yesterday, laboratory tests by the Public Health Laboratory confirmed her chikungunya virus infection. The patient was in stable condition last night, with no symptoms reported among her cohabitants or travel companions.
Based on the patient’s travel history, symptom onset timeline and lab results, she has been confirmed as Macau’s second imported chikungunya case so far this year, the bureau stated.
The Health Bureau’s (SSM) Disease Control and Prevention Centre Chief Leong Iek Hou (centre), the Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IAM) Department of Environmental Hygiene and Licencing Chief Kenny Fong Vai Seng (left) and the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre’s (CHCSJ) Internal Medicine Infectious Diseases Consultant Fan Yunming look on during yesterday’s press conference on its premises adjacent at the public hospital’s complex on Guia Hill. – Photo: Armindo Neves
