The Department of Health’s Centre for Health Protection announced that two new imported cases of chikungunya fever (CF) had been recorded as of 5pm today.

The two cases involve a 50-year-old man and his eight-year-old daughter, living in Sai Kung District.

Both patients travelled to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh between July 20 and August 10, and could not confirm if they had a history of mosquito bites during the stay.

The man developed a fever on August 1 while in Bangladesh, and joint pain in the limbs the next day. He sought medical attention from an outpatient clinic there on August 3 and did not require hospitalisation.

He was informed that his blood sample tested positive for the CF virus. His fever had subsided before returning to Hong Kong on August 10, and he attended a private hospital on August 12 due to swollen joints.

As the patient was afebrile prior to the ninth day after the onset of symptoms, he was not infectious to mosquitoes upon returning to Hong Kong and did not require hospitalisation.

His daughter developed a fever, cough and fatigue on August 12 and attended a private hospital yesterday. She was admitted for treatment in a mosquito-free environment and is in a stable condition.

Their blood samples tested positive for the CF virus. Since they stayed in Bangladesh during the whole incubation period, they were considered infected during travel and were classified as imported cases.

The pair's three household contacts, including two travel collaterals who had been to Bangladesh, are asymptomatic and under medical surveillance. The centre has reported the cases to Bangladesh’s health authority.

So far this year, Hong Kong has recorded a total of eight CF cases.