Hong Kong steps up mosquito control after October index findings
Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has released the fifth batch of Aedes albopictus gravid-trap indices for October. The department has intensified anti-mosquito measures including cross-departmental collaboration, risk assessments, public education, and a fast notification system
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has released the fifth batch of Aedes albopictus gravid-trap indices for October, alongside a renewed call for public cooperation in mosquito prevention. The announcement, made on 5 November 2026, details continued measures to curb the spread of chikungunya fever and dengue fever.
FEHD has implemented multiple anti-mosquito actions, including cross-departmental collaboration through special task force meetings to coordinate with relevant departments and stakeholders such as construction site contractors, schools and property management companies. The department is also conducting precise risk assessments in areas with severe mosquito problems, with targeted strategies including enhanced inspections, removal of existing and potential breeding sites, application of larvicide, fogging to kill adult mosquitoes, and installation of traps in suitable locations.
Public education efforts involve exhibitions and the distribution of leaflets and posters to raise awareness. A fast notification system alerts subscribed estates, urging property management companies and residents to remain vigilant and implement preventive measures together. In follow-up actions, FEHD issued a statutory notice to the responsible party after discovering stagnant water in a park in Sha Tin District, requiring its removal within a specified period.
The department has been monitoring Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in 62 community surveillance areas since August 2025, using gravid traps placed in areas with previous local mosquito-borne disease cases and in densely populated locations such as housing estates, hospitals and schools. The monitoring period is two weeks, with traps collected weekly to calculate indices and density indices.
FEHD urged the public to cooperate by removing standing water from containers, checking household items such as flower pots, air conditioner trays and drying racks for trapped water, changing vase water and scrubbing interiors at least weekly, covering water containers, disposing of items that can hold water, and scrubbing drains and open channels weekly with an alkaline detergent to remove mosquito eggs.
