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Although visitors or returning travelers to Hong Kong have sometimes been diagnosed with Dengue fever, locally acquired cases have been relatively rare over the past few years.
Earlier this month, 3 Hong Kong residents returning from India were diagnosed with the virus.
3 return from India with Dengue fever
The Centre for Health Protection is investigating three related Dengue fever cases. The three male patients had all stayed in New Delhi before the onset of symptoms.
On Wednesday, Xinhua Press reported on the first known locally acquired case of Dengue there since an outbreak in 2002.
Hong Kong Reports First Local Case of Dengue Fever in 7 years
September 23, 2010, 12:12am
In the 72 hours since that report, several more suspect cases have emerged, and enhanced surveillance and testing has been ordered by the health department.
3 suspected Dengue fever cases probed
The Centre for Health Protection is investigating three suspected local Dengue fever cases involving the three family members of the 46-year-old man who was earlier confirmed to have the disease.
They are the man's 47-year-old wife and his sons, aged 18 and eight. Their blood samples have tested positive for the virus. Confirmatory tests are being conducted. Their domestic helper tested negative for the virus.
The centre is arranging further confirmatory tests for a two-year-old girl who is also a suspected local case. Blood tests for her father and two sisters, aged nine months and two years, are also being arranged.
Centre staff have visited ESF International Kindergarten (Hillside) and Bradbury School, where the girl and the eight-year-old boy study. So far, none of their classmates reported symptomatic. Blood tests will be arranged with parents' consent.
The centre continued its investigation in the area near the patients' home at Island Road, Deep Water Bay and Stubbs Road where the two schools are located. Nobody reported active symptoms. So far, blood samples from 66 people have been taken for analysis. Results are pending.
Dengue is exceedingly difficult to eradicate, particularly in areas that see a lot of visitors who can continually re-introduce the disease back into the mosquito population.
A problem that Northern Australia and Key West, Florida are dealing with this year, as well.
