Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection has confirmed a new local case of chikungunya fever in a 67-year-old woman who hiked in Tsing Yi, bringing the total to 10 local cases this year. The woman, from Kwai Tsing district, had no travel history during the incubation period.
Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection announced on Saturday at 5pm a new locally acquired case of chikungunya fever involving a 67-year-old woman residing in Kwai Tsing district, raising the total confirmed local cases of the mosquito-borne disease this year to 10.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman experienced joint pain on Tuesday, fever on Wednesday, and a rash on Friday. She sought treatment at the accident and emergency department of Princess Margaret Hospital in Lai Chi Kok on Friday, where she remains in stable condition. Laboratory tests on her blood sample confirmed positivity for the chikungunya virus.
With no travel history during the incubation period, the case is classified as local. The woman had hiked along the Tsing Yi Nature Trails with a household contact on November 29, but no overlap was found between her activities and locations visited by previously confirmed patients during the incubation period. Chikungunya fever causes symptoms such as fever, joint pain, and rash, spread by mosquitoes.