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Ambrose Li

Edith Lin

Hong Kong authorities should step up preventive measures and issue a travel alert to warn residents against visiting parts of central Africa as an Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo and Uganda threatens to worsen, an infectious disease expert has said.
The call by Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan, a council member of the Hong Kong Society of Infectious Diseases, came on Monday, a day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and local authorities stepped up health screenings for passengers arriving from Africa at the airport.
The society’s president, Dr Wilson Lam, also urged residents to avoid travel to the affected regions, while stressing there was no need for undue concern about a local outbreak.
Tsang stressed the need for Hong Kong to step up preventive measures, particularly at checkpoints, given the frequent business exchanges between some mainland Chinese cities and central Africa.
“There needs to be a clear travel health alert not to head to [the DR] Congo and the affected countries unless absolutely necessary,” Tsang told a radio programme, referring to the government’s three-tier outbound travel alert system that warns travellers of potential personal safety threats.
Signs should be displayed informing inbound visitors to Hong Kong about the outbreak – linked to the Bundibugyo virus – and notices telling them to report to authorities if they had any symptoms or interactions with potentially infected people from the affected countries, or with those who had travelled there, he added.
“There have only been three outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus recorded, all of which caused haemorrhages … We will still need to observe its characteristics, but I believe the actual number of patients hasn’t yet been reflected in reports or the news,” Tsang said.
The Bundibugyo virus is a strain of the Ebola virus for which there is no vaccine.
Tsang noted that the outbreak had already spread to highly populated areas and business centres with high levels of movement, and the situation could worsen in the next two to three weeks.
According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong recorded 17,860 visitor arrivals from Africa between January and March this year, accounting for 0.1 per cent of total arrivals.
Lam said the situation could worsen if infections increased, especially if the outbreak spread to countries with closer ties to Hong Kong. However, he noted that the risk of imported cases remained low, as Ebola patients typically developed multiple symptoms that made travel difficult.
Noting that Ebola outbreaks had previously occurred in African countries, Lam said there was no need for excessive concern.
“Regions with the Ebola outbreak are not popular tourist destinations among Hongkongers and general travellers. Plus, Hong Kong has not recorded any case, not even an imported case. The chance of a local outbreak is not particularly high, compared with the past,” he said.
Lam said that beyond stepping up health screenings for travellers from affected countries, it was “very limited” as to what more the Hong Kong government could do. He also urged residents to avoid travelling to affected areas and advised those already there to maintain good hand hygiene.
The Democratic Republic of Congo recorded nine confirmed Ebola cases, 246 suspected infections and 80 suspected deaths as of Saturday. Uganda recorded two confirmed but apparently unlinked cases, including one death.

Hong Kong has not recorded any case of Ebola so far.
The government noted that there were no direct flights between Hong Kong and the two affected countries, while travellers arriving from Africa generally transfer in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government began strengthening health screenings for arrivals at all boundary control points, including conducting temperature checks at relevant flight gates and screening passengers for symptoms.
Suspected cases will be immediately referred to public hospitals for isolation and treatment until blood samples test negative for the virus.
The WHO last declared an Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo as an international public health emergency in 2019, with the Hong Kong government adopting similar measures at the time.


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Infectious disease expert says more preventive measures necessary, noting frequent exchanges between mainland Chinese and central African cities


Infectious disease expert says more preventive measures necessary, noting frequent exchanges between mainland Chinese and central African cities.


Hong Kong urged to trigger travel alert to DR Congo, Uganda amid Ebola outbreak

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Infectious disease expert says more preventive measures necessary, noting frequent exchanges between mainland Chinese and central African cities

Infectious disease expert says more preventive measures necessary, noting frequent exchanges between mainland Chinese and central African cities