The relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases is being studied by the Hong Kong Government to see whether there is a major or direct link, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.
He told the Legislative Council today the Department of Health and the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department are monitoring international and local studies on seasonality or climatic factors being one of the contributing factors to the transmission potential of infectious disease. They will take the findings into account when updating their public health control strategies and contingency plans for infection outbreaks.
The World Health Organisation has recognised that climatic effects associated with global warming may raise the transmission potential for some vectors and waterborne diseases like mosquitoes and pathogenic organisms by affecting their lifecycle dynamics, and by contaminating water or food.
Dr Chow said Government departments are investigating the relationship between climatic factors and infectious disease locally. He said the Centre for Health Protection's scientific committees, with assistance from the Hong Kong Observatory, have examined the relationship between climatic variables, including temperature and humidity, and selected local infectious diseases of public concern, like Japanese encephalitis and Dengue fever.
The observatory recently performed a literature review on the possible link between climate and outbreaks of SARS and avian influenza for the World Meteorological Organisation Commission of Climatology.