Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

In response to media enquiry today (October 16) regarding surveillance on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) gave the following response:
 
RSV is included in routine surveillance
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The CHP monitors the activity and disease burden (e.g. mortality and hospitalisation rates) of major local respiratory diseases, including RSV, through a series of surveillance systems. For laboratory surveillance, the CHP’s Public Health Laboratory Services Branch regularly conducts Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for RSV on respiratory specimens. Additionally, the CHP monitors RSV-associated hospitalisations in public hospitals based on principal discharge diagnoses and tracks upper respiratory infection outbreaks in schools and residential care institutions. The CHP announces number of positive detections and percentage weekly, and releases the latest epidemiological situation via press releases and online publications periodically.
 
Influenza-associated hospitalisation rate far exceeds that of RSV
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RSV can cause respiratory tract infections, including infection of the airway, lungs and middle ear. The virus can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious secretions or droplets, or indirectly through contaminated hands, eating utensils or articles freshly soiled by nasal or throat discharges of an infected person. Most people experience only mild symptoms after infection.
 
The epidemiological pattern of RSV is difference from that of the seasonal influenza. In general, influenza has an obvious seasonal pattern that a peak usually happens in winter and summer; RSV does not have a clear seasonal feature. In some of the years, a peak may happen between May and August, while no regular patterns can be found in some other years. This year, no seasonal peak of RSV has been shown. Laboratory surveillance data revealed that the percentages of specimens tested positive for RSV over the past 12 weeks ranged between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent, which are higher than that of the first-half year when less than 1 per cent was recorded but far lower than 8 per cent to 10 per cent when a peak was recorded in the past.
 
On the other hand, RSV is similar to influenza and COVID-19, with the elderly and young children being the most affected groups. Fatal cases primarily occur among the elderly, with mortality rates increasing with age. The hospitalisation rate associated with RSV is also higher for elderly persons aged 75 or above.
 
The CHP’s analysis indicated that between January 2023 and June 2025, the average annualised mortality rates associated with RSV among elderly persons aged 75 or above was 10.3 per 100 000 population, which is lower than that of the rate of 80.2 per 100 000 population for seasonal influenza. The hospitalisation rate associated with RSV among elderly persons was also lower than that for seasonal influenza. In recent years, the weekly influenza-associated hospitalisation rate during the peak of influenza seasons was approximately 10 per 100 000 population, while the hospitalisation rate for RSV generally remained below 2 per 100 000 population. The average cumulative hospitalisation rate for influenza among elderly persons was 3.7 times that of RSV.
 
Prevention of RSV infection
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Although the overall disease burden of RSV is lower than seasonal influenza, it is still a respiratory infectious disease with public health significance. The prevention of RSV and other respiratory diseases (such as influenza) are therefore equally important. The public should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene, and wear a surgical mask to prevent transmission if they present with fever and respiratory symptoms. The public should also keep the room well-ventilated and if they develop respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, stay home from work or school, avoid crowded places and seek medical attention as soon as possible.
 
Regarding vaccination, the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the CHP regularly reviews the epidemiological situation of local vaccine-preventable diseases, the latest recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), scientific developments and evidence on vaccines, updates on vaccine components, cost-effectiveness studies, as well as actual experiences of other health authorities. It provides relevant vaccination recommendations to the DH from a public health perspective.
 
During the meeting in January this year, the SCVPD discussed the use of RSV vaccines for elderly persons. After thoroughly reviewing local epidemiological data on RSV disease; the scientific data on the efficacy, safety and potential adverse effects of the vaccines, the experts were of the view that the two RSV vaccines currently registered in Hong Kong are safe and effective.
 
Regarding vaccination for elderly persons, as specific recommendations from the WHO and local data from the cost-benefit perspective are pending, universal RSV vaccination for elderly persons is not recommended at the moment. The SCVPD considered that elderly persons may consult their family doctor for professional advice to understand the benefits, risks and necessity of vaccination. Based on the doctor’s assessment, they can make decisions on whether to proceed with RSV vaccination for personal protection. The Health Bureau has commissioned The University of Hong Kong to conduct an analysis on the cost-benefit of the RSV vaccine. Upon completion of the cost-benefit analysis, the SCVPD will discuss again the issue on RSV vaccination based on the relevant analysis results and latest scientific evidence. The recommendations of the SCVPD in January are available on the CHP website.
 
The CHP will continue to closely monitor major local respiratory diseases and regularly publish data. It will also remind healthcare professionals and members of the public of relevant public health information and recommendations in a timely manner through appropriate channels.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Fire Services Department (FSD) today (October 16) held the first meeting of the Anti-Illicit Fuelling Activities Strategy Group to facilitate communication and collaboration among government departments and the industry, and to jointly formulate strategies to strengthen the efforts in combating illicit fuelling activities for safeguarding public safety.

     The Strategy Group is a newly established sub-group under the Dangerous Goods Standing Committee (DGSC). The DGSC is responsible for reviewing regulations related to dangerous goods and providing professional advice to the Government on matters on dangerous goods, such as classification, handling and emergency measures, with a view to optimising the management of dangerous goods and ensuring public safety.

     The Strategy Group comprises professional representatives from various sectors, including dangerous goods management, law enforcement, vehicle specifications and the petroleum industry, covering multiple government departments and petroleum-related areas. When necessary, the Strategy Group will also invite other stakeholders and government departments to attend the meetings and offer views on related issues. The membership of the Strategy Group is set out in the Appendix.

     The main responsibilities of the Strategy Group include:

1.   intelligence sharing: to facilitate interdepartmental co-ordination and communication among stakeholders, enhance information sharing and intelligence integration, and improve enforcement efficiency; 
2.   strategy formulation: to design and implement forward-looking and effective strategies to strengthen the capacity in preventing and combating illicit fuelling activities; 
3.   collaboration among departments and industry: to bring together the Government and the private sector to expand the co-operative network against illicit fuelling activities; and
4.   publicity and education: to enhance publicity to remind the public not to patronise illegal fuelling stations and to report such illegal activities to enforcement departments.

The FSD will continue to adopt a multipronged strategy to comprehensively combat illicit fuelling activities and safeguard fire safety in the community.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 16) that aquatic products from a regulated Japanese prefecture were suspected to be in breach of the relevant Food Safety Order when the CFS inspected food imported from Japan. The products concerned have been marked and sealed by the CFS and have not entered the market. The CFS is following up on the cases.

A spokesman for the CFS said, “During inspections of the concerned consignments of food imported from Japan, the CFS found one pack of chilled scallops and two batches of a total of six packs of chilled sea urchin manufactured, processed or packed respectively in Miyagi Prefecture after the Order was issued. The importers concerned are thus suspected of breaching the relevant Order.”

According to the Order, all aquatic products originating from 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, are prohibited from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong if they are harvested, manufactured, processed or packed on or after August 24, 2023, including all live, chilled, frozen, dried or otherwise preserved aquatic products, sea salt, and unprocessed or processed seaweed.

​The CFS will continue to follow up on these incidents and take appropriate action, including informing the Japanese authorities concerned of the incidents. Prosecution will be instituted against the importers concerned should there be sufficient evidence. The investigation is ongoing.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Science Museum will launch “The Shaw Prize 2025 Exhibition” tomorrow (October 17) at the museum’s main lobby on 1/F to introduce the Shaw Laureates this year and their outstanding contributions. The exhibition also presents related science knowledge with interactive panels, guiding the public to explore the research journey of these distinguished scientists. The exhibition will run until December 17. Admission is free.
 
     Established in 2002, the Shaw Prize consists of three annual awards, namely the Prize in Astronomy, the Prize in Life Science and Medicine and the Prize in Mathematical Sciences.
 
     The Shaw Prize in Astronomy 2025 is awarded in equal shares to two scholars, John Richard Bond, Professor of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics and University Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, and George Efstathiou, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics (1909) at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, for their pioneering research in cosmology, in particular for their studies of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. Their predictions have been verified by an armada of ground-, balloon- and space-based instruments, leading to precise determinations of the age, geometry, and mass-energy content of the universe.
 
     The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2025 is awarded to Wolfgang Baumeister, Director Emeritus and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at ShanghaiTech University, People’s Republic of China, for his pioneering development and use of cryogenic-electron tomography (cryo-ET), an imaging technique that enables three-dimensional visualisation of biological samples, including proteins, macromolecular complexes, and cellular compartments as they exist in their natural cellular settings.
 
     The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences 2025 is awarded to Kenji Fukaya, Professor at the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications and the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University, People’s Republic of China, for his pioneering work on symplectic geometry, especially for envisioning the existence of a category – nowadays called the Fukaya category – consisting of Lagrangians on a symplectic manifold.
 
     “The Shaw Prize 2025 Exhibition” is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and The Shaw Prize Foundation and is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Hong Kong Space Museum, the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Education City. For details of the exhibition and activities, please visit hk.science.museum/en/web/scm/exhibition/shawprize.html.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

In light of the continued increase in influenza activity and outbreaks of influenza-like illness (ILI) in schools and residential care homes (RCHs), the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (October 16) urged all persons aged 6 months or above (except those with known contraindications) to receive the seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) as soon as possible to minimise the risk of serious complications and death following infection.
 
Influenza activity continues to rise
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Hong Kong has entered the summer influenza season, and the influenza activity continues to rise. The CHP’s latest surveillance data showed that the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses during the past week (October 5 to 11) was 12.02 per cent, which is higher than the 9.70 per cent recorded during the preceding week and exceeds the peak of 10.54 per cent during the winter influenza season earlier this year. Influenza A(H3) is the predominant circulating strain, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of all detected viruses, followed by influenza A(H1) at slightly over 10 per cent. Influenza B accounted for the remainder. The influenza admission rate in public hospitals is 0.67 cases per 10 000 population, which is higher than the 0.52 cases recorded during the preceding week. There has also been an increase in outbreaks of ILI in schools and RCHs over the past two weeks. As of yesterday (October 15), 451 outbreaks had been reported in schools since the start of the school year in September. Among them, 43, 244 and 164 cases occurred in kindergartens/child care centres, primary schools and secondary schools respectively. During the same period, nine severe cases and one fatal case of paediatric influenza involving children aged 3 to 17 have been recorded. Eight of them had good past health.
 
“Summer influenza seasons do not occur every year in Hong Kong. It usually occurred between July and August and lasted for six to 18 weeks. The emergence of a summer influenza season in September is uncommon. Since the public received their SIV over nine months ago, the protective immunity generated by the SIV has relatively waned. Coupled with the fact that the new seasonal influenza vaccines for this season have only recently become available on the market and some people have not yet received this year’s SIV, this year’s summer influenza outbreak is expected to be relatively severe. Based on the current level of influenza activity and trend analysis, the local influenza activity is expected to remain at a relatively high level over the next few weeks. Furthermore, viruses tend to become more active when the temperature drops towards the end of the year. The winter influenza season in Hong Kong typically occurs between January and March. The current summer influenza season may overlap with the upcoming winter influenza season, which could lead to a higher hospitalisation rate due to influenza infection,” the Controller of the CHP, Dr Edwin Tsui, said.
 
“The 2025/26 SIV Programmes offers injectable inactivated influenza vaccines (both trivalent and quadrivalent), recombinant influenza vaccines and live attenuated influenza vaccines. All of them cover both influenza A and B viruses and can effectively prevent seasonal influenza and its complications,” he added.
 
2025/26 SIV Programmes
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To boost SIV rates, enrolment for the SIV School Outreach Programme has started since the beginning of June this year, which was earlier than last year. With the concerted efforts of the Government and various community sectors (including the medical sector and schools), approximately 2 300 schools (99 per cent) are going to arrange SIV school outreach activities. Among these, over 1 330 schools (58 per cent) have scheduled to carry out the outreach activities by the end of this month, and over 2 160 schools (94 per cent) by the end of next month (November), which are respectively higher than last year’s 45 per cent and 83 per cent. Currently, about 410 schools have held school outreach activities, with the earliest session taking place on September 29.
 
“Through the concerted efforts of schools, this season’s school outreach activities will generally be completed earlier than last season’s. However, given the emergence of this year’s summer influenza season, coupled with the recent increase in seasonal influenza activity and the number of school outbreaks, we have urged relevant schools to advance the vaccination outreach services further, where feasible. Following intensive coordination by the CHP, 15 schools (including seven secondary schools, two primary schools and six kindergartens/child care centres) will advance their outreach activities originally scheduled for December this year or January next year to before the end of next month. The CHP will continue to actively liaise with the remaining relevant schools to provide feasible assistance,” Dr Tsui said.
 
Regarding the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS), over 1 800 private doctors have applied to participate so far.
 
“With the support of private doctors, both the number of participating doctors and vaccination venues increased compared to the same period last season. So far, the number of doses administered under the VSS has increased by approximately 12 per cent, compared to the same period last season, demonstrating the impact of private doctors network on boosting vaccination rates. For the newly launched pilot scheme on vaccine procurement for family doctors, the Government has helped procure an additional 100 000 doses of injectable inactivated influenza vaccines for specified VSS family doctors. These doctors have ordered over 60 000 doses of influenza vaccines so far, indicating a positive response,” he added.
 
The sooner one receives seasonal influenza vaccines the better
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“Influenza can cause serious illnesses among high-risk individuals and even in healthy persons. SIV is one of the most effective ways of preventing seasonal influenza and its complications. It can also reduce influenza-related hospitalisation and death due to seasonal influenza. SIV is recommended for all persons aged 6 months or above, except those with known contraindications. I wish to particularly remind high-risk groups, such as the elderly, children, and adults with underlying illnesses and immunosuppression, to get SIV as soon as possible. Members of the public may also contact their family doctors to arrange for vaccinations,” Dr Tsui said.
 
For more information on the SIV programmes, visit the webpage or call the CHP during office hours at 2125 2125.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

​A spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said today (October 17) that with regard to the incident last night (October 16) involving concentration of ammonia gas inside the wastewater treatment plant of the Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 2 (O．PARK2) exceeding the Occupational Exposure Limit set by the Labour Department (LD) due to malfunction, the ammonia gas concentration has reduced to normal levels as a result of assistance from the Fire Services Department (FSD) and LD in handling the incident. On-site monitoring data during this time indicate that the incident had not caused any impact on the surrounding environment. 

EPD’s contractor has carried out emergency measures to maintain ammonia gas concentration at normal levels, including enhancing ventilation and temporarily suspending operation of the wastewater treatment plant for emergency repairs. During the repairing period of the wastewater treatment plant, O·PARK2 will continue to accept food waste with service adjustments as necessary. The repair works will be conducted in accordance with LD and FSD’s safety advice.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) today said its Public Health Laboratory Services Branch routinely conducts Polymerase Chain Reaction tests for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on respiratory specimens.

Additionally, the centre monitors RSV-associated hospitalisations in public hospitals, and tracks upper respiratory infection outbreaks in schools as well as residential care institutions. The number of positive detections and the percentage are announced weekly on its website.

The CHP made the remarks in response to a media enquiry concerning RSV surveillance.

It noted that as revealed by laboratory surveillance data, the percentages of specimens testing positive for RSV over the past 12 weeks ranged between 2.5% and 3.5%, higher than that of the first-half year when less than 1% was recorded, but far lower than 8% to 10% when a peak was recorded in the past.

Furthermore, the CHP’s analysis indicated that between January 2023 and June 2025, the average annualised mortality rates associated with RSV among elderly people aged 75 or above was 10.3 per 100,000 population, which is lower than that of the rate of 80.2 per 100,000 population for seasonal influenza.

The hospitalisation rate associated with RSV among elderly people was also lower than that for seasonal influenza.

During the meeting in January this year, the CHP’s Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) discussed the use of RSV vaccines for elderly people, and the experts were of the view that the two RSV vaccines currently registered in Hong Kong are safe and effective.

Regarding vaccination for the elderly, as specific recommendations from the World Health Organization and local data from the cost-benefit perspective are pending, universal RSV vaccination for elderly people is not recommended at the moment.

The Health Bureau has commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct an analysis on the cost-benefit of the RSV vaccine. Upon completion of the cost-benefit analysis, the SCVPD will discuss again the issue on RSV vaccination, based on the relevant analysis results and latest scientific evidence.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Hong Kong recorded a current health expenditure (CHE) of $251.207 billion in 2023-24, an 8.6% increase compared with the previous year’s figure (excluding identified COVID-19 expenditure), the Health Bureau said today.

Releasing Hong Kong’s Domestic Health Accounts (DHA) 2023-24, the bureau noted that the CHE as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 8.3%, and the CHE per capita was $33,334 during the period.

Public fund on healthcare accounted for 51.8% of the CHE in 2023-24, or 4.3% as a GDP percentage, which was 1.5 times of the 2.9% recorded 10 years ago in 2013-14.

Among other regions and economies with comparable shares of elderly population, Hong Kong is one of the places with the lowest public expenditure expressed in GDP percentage, the bureau noted.

In 2023-24, primary healthcare expenditure accounted for 29.3% of the city’s CHE, the highest percentage in the past decade, demonstrating the Government’s efforts to promote primary healthcare development are bearing fruit.

For private healthcare expenditure, it accounted for 48.2% of the CHE in Hong Kong or 4% as a percentage of GDP during the same period.

As for private expenditure on secondary and tertiary healthcare, the percentage share of health insurance schemes, including privately purchased as well as employer-based insurance schemes, in private expenditure increased from 33.4% to 44.8% in the past decade from 2013-14 to 2023-24.

This is an indicator that the health insurance scheme has become an increasingly important funding source for private healthcare services, the bureau added.

Specifically, by the end of 2024, the number of policies under the government-launched Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme has reached 1.428 million, which is estimated to account for approximately one-third of Hong Kong’s individual indemnity hospital insurance market.

To enhance the sustainability of Hong Kong’s healthcare system, the Government is comprehensively deepening the healthcare system reform, including advancing primary healthcare development to shift the emphasis of the healthcare system from treatment-oriented to prevention-focused.

It is also taking forward the fees and charges reform for public healthcare, with a view to optimising the use of healthcare resources amidst the mounting pressure on public hospitals.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region