Health Bureau (SSM) official Leong Iek Hou said yesterday the government was expecting the city’s ovitrap index (OI) to rise this month.
According to Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the ovitrap index measures the number of Aedes-positive ovitraps. The number is then used for monitoring and detecting Aedes mosquito populations thus acting as an early warning signal to pre-empt disease outbreaks.
Dengue is spread by several species of mosquito of the Aedes type, principally Aedes aegypti, also known as yellow fever mosquito that can be recognised by white markings on its legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the upper surface of the thorax, according to Wikipedia.
