Press Releases

Trial JE vaccination programme for pigs

        The Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, said today (November 19) the Government was actively considering implementing a trial vaccination programme for pigs against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) to reduce the risk of the virus threatening public health.

        Speaking to the media before viewing a mock evacuation of an inter-departmental public health exercise, Dr Chow said he was very concerned with the occurrence of five local JE cases so far this year, which was apparently on the high side when compared to the number of cases reported in the past years.

        As the Culex tritaeniorhychus mosquitoes, the principal vector of JE, were infected by feeding on infected pigs and wild birds, he said the Centre for Health Protection and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department were studying the implementation details of a trial JE vaccination programme for pigs in local farms.

        The programme is aimed at reducing the risk of pigs, a host of the JE virus, from becoming a source of infection while the Culex tritaeniorhychus mosquitoes fed on them for their blood meals, he said.

        He expected the pilot programme would take at least a couple of months to materialise as the departments concerned had to work out the mechanism and implementation details of the programme.

        Dr Chow believed the threat of mosquitoes would be easing with the approach of the cooler months but he stressed that the authorities would continue with anti-mosquito operations around piggeries on a regular basis and particularly in areas where the patients lived.

        He also urged people to join in the Government's anti-mosquito efforts, and to take precautionary measures to protect themselves against mosquito bites.

Ends/Friday, November 19, 2004

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