The Government has announced that with effect from 10 June 2022 Monkeypox will be included as a Statutorily Notifiable Disease as specified in Schedule 1 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599). The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) also launched the Preparedness and Response Plan for Monkeypox, setting out the relevant strategies and actions when Monkeypox may have a significant public health impact on Hong Kong. (Please Click) Medical practitioners are required to notify the DH if they have reason to suspect any case of Monkeypox as prompt notification is important in the surveillance, prevention and control of the spread of the disease.

The World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) falls on 31 May every year, as designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This year’s WNTD Theme is, “Tobacco: threat to our environment”. The WNTD aims at highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating effective tobacco control policy to reduce tobacco consumption. Throughout its life cycle, tobacco pollutes our planet and damages the health of all people.

According to WHO, the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year globally, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke. Tobacco destroys our environment, further harming human health, through the cultivation, production, distribution, consumption, and post-consumer waste. Therefore, we have every reason to join hands in helping smokers to quit tobacco, in saving lives and in saving our planet. (Please Click) The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the Department of Health has launched the “Quit in June” campaign to call on smokers to give up smoking so as to reduce their risk of tobacco-related diseases and deaths. Furthermore, smoking is associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Quitting is of great benefit to smokers of all ages and will result in immediate and long-term health benefits. (Please Click) In parallel, a new toolkit for delivery of Brief Intervention on Smoking Cessation has been developed by the TACO for healthcare providers in delivering brief smoking cessation support in the daily clinical practice. (Please Click) Let us continue to help create a tobacco-free environment!

The Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently issued interim advice on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant and lactating women in which it stated that based on available data women who are pregnant have an increased risk of developing severe adverse outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection, when compared with the non-pregnant population. It also stated that COVID-19 increases the risk of preterm birth by 2-fold and the extended perinatal mortality by about 50%. Hence, it is recommended that women who are planning to conceive, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding should be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine as the rest of the population, unless contraindicated due to underlying medical reasons. It went on to report that recent studies of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy also suggested benefits for the infants. Transplacental transfer of SARS-CoV-2–specific antibodies was revealed following maternal vaccination in pregnancy. More details can be found from the following link. (Please Click)

Professor Rodger Charlton from the United Kingdom (UK) has contributed an editorial entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on UK Family Practice / Primary Care” in the June issue of the Hong Kong Practitioner. Professor Charlton provided an update from a practicing GP’s point of view on the various aspects of GP’s work in the UK being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years. He particularly shared on the influence of the pandemic on clinical practice, training, and continuing professional development (CPD) with the emergence of new models of care, application of new technology in teaching, training as well as conducting CPD. Please watch out for the June issue of our College Journal.

Please keep well and stay safe.