Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said on April 21 it had confirmed the city’s first locally acquired dengue fever case this year and will work with relevant government departments on measures to prevent further infections.
The patient is a 21-year-old man. He developed fever, headache, muscle pain and a rash on April 12 and sought diagnosis and treatment on April 16 at a public hospital in Tai Po, in the New Territories. A blood test returned a positive result for the dengue virus, and his condition was reported as stable.
Investigators said the man lives in a housing estate in Tai Po and had been working on a road construction project on Lantau Island. He reported no travel outside Hong Kong during the incubation period from March 29 to April 9 and said he was bitten by mosquitoes near the work site.
Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes including the Aedes aegypti. The health protection center said rising temperatures and humidity make it easier for mosquitoes to breed and urged residents to take steps to prevent mosquito infestations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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