Chief Executive CY Leung visited the Centre for Health Protection today to learn about the safeguards being taken against the Zika virus in Hong Kong, and met with a World Health Organisation representative to discuss prevention and control measures.
To enhance surveillance of the virus the Government gazetted today a notice making Zika a notifiable infectious disease.
Accompanied by Secretary for Food & Health Dr Ko Wing-man, Mr Leung was briefed by Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Leung Ting-hung on the spread of the virus in different places around the world.
Dr Leung said the Department of Health has maintained close communication with the WHO and health authorities in other places, including Guangdong and Macau, on the surveillance of Zika, adding the Centre for Health Protection has the capability to detect the virus.
The centre has set up a dedicated website providing public health information on the virus, and travel advice has been uploaded to the department's travel health service webpage and the Security Bureau's outbound travel alert webpage.
Mr Leung spoke with WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Keiji Fukuda, who said the WHO has declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern.
The Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Mosquito-borne Diseases will meet today to follow up on the risk of virus infection and vector control in Hong Kong.
Mr Leung called on people to take anti-mosquito measures as Zika is a mosquito-borne disease.
"Although no human cases of Zika virus have been reported locally so far, we must control the risk of its transmission as Hong Kong is an international city with frequent travellers," he said.
