In support of World Immunisation Week organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the last week of April every year, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 24) reminded the public that timely vaccinations can safeguard individual and community health from serious threats posed by vaccine-preventable diseases.

Due to a drop in vaccination coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a recent resurgence of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases outside Hong Kong. For example, measles cases in Europe, the United States and neighboring countries, such as Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia, are on the rise, where children who have not yet completed their vaccinations or have unknown vaccination status were mainly affected. For pertussis, the number of cases reported in Japan, the United States and New Zealand this year are also higher than that of the same period in previous years, with most of the affected cases being infants and adolescents, underscoring the importance of timely vaccinations for maintaining a high vaccination rate and herd immunity.

CHP reminded the public to make sure that they have completed their required immunisation if they plan to visit places with outbreaks or high incidences of vaccine-preventable diseases. Anyone who has not completed immunisation or with an unknown vaccination history should consult his/her family doctor at least two weeks before travelling.

The incubation period of measles is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. While for pertussis, the infected person may initially be sneezing and have a runny nose, a low-grade fever and a mild cough. The cough gradually becomes more severe and may even lead to seizures and coma in severe cases. If such symptoms appear after returning from places where measles and pertussis are endemic, people should wear surgical masks, stay home from work or school, avoid crowded places and seek medical advice as soon as possible.

Please click here for related HKSAR Government press release.