World News by Wild Rose

Severe haze in Hong Kong over the past two days has prompted a government warning of serious health risks, with experts urging the elderly and vulnerable to stay indoors until sunset. Air quality health risk levels at some of Hong Kong’s roadside monitoring stations rose on Wednesday and Thursday, with experts attributing the surge to elevated ozone levels caused by sunlight and high temperatures and warning that conditions were likely to persist over the next few days. On Wednesday afternoon,...

A senior Hong Kong health official has warned of a higher risk of influenza infection as vaccination rates fall and the city’s summer flu season stretches on, following the death of a second unvaccinated child from influenza. Centre for Health Protection controller Edwin Tsui Lok-kin issued the warning as Hong Kong’s current flu season, which began in June, shows no sign of easing. He said authorities were monitoring possible changes in how the virus spreads after two consecutive summer flu...

A growing interest among Hong Kong women in an anti-ageing injection containing human tissue has prompted a recent crackdown by health authorities, as the product, widely known in Chinese as the “cadaver skin jab”, has not been registered for use in the city. The South China Morning Post examines why the injection has become a new beauty trend, what it claims to do and the risks involved. 1. What is a ‘cadaver skin jab’? The “cadaver skin jab” refers to Elravie Re2O, a cadaver-derived skin...

For cancer patients in Hong Kong, emotional distress can persist beyond the clinic, with a large combined analysis of multiple studies linking depression and anxiety to lower chances of survival. Claudia Chan Shu-ying, a medical student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), is developing CancerCompanion, a digital companion designed to offer emotional support between appointments, including late at night when professional help may not be immediately available. The system uses AI-powered...

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has appealed to the public for a liver donation for a 13-year-old boy suffering from severe liver failure who urgently needs a transplant. The authority, which is also seeking help from mainland China, said on Thursday evening that the boy, being treated at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, was now in a serious condition. “The patient has been experiencing severe hepatic failure and developed severe complications including recurrent hyperammonemia and...

Hong Kong will step up health surveillance measures for arrivals after a laboratory worker at an anti-plague research institute in Russia died from pneumonia, but authorities have stressed the risk to residents remains low. According to World Health Organization (WHO) information provided by Russian authorities, there was no evidence of ongoing transmission, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Monday. Russian authorities previously stated ‌that the worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague...

Hong Kong health authorities will deploy on-site staff and step up support via a dedicated hotline for patients visiting Kai Tak Hospital amid booking and transport queries as the city’s largest public hospital begins its phased opening. From Monday, Kai Tak Hospital’s family medicine integrated centre will start operations, while specialist outpatient services and automated features in the hospital’s blood-taking services are scheduled to launch in late October. Dr Eric Cheung Fuk-chi, cluster...

Thirty-one years ago, Hongkonger Raymond Lo Shu-yuen was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer and had a quarter of the organ removed. Now 75, Lo said the illness, despite its physical and mental toll, had taught him invaluable lessons about ageing, health and making the most of life. “I can say that the cancer itself saved me,” he said. “Why? If I did not have this illness, I would not have changed my past lifestyle such as working hard like a dog, eating a lot of junk food, doing no exercise...

Hong Kong’s health minister has warned that the city will need to “bear the consequences” of exaggerating concerns over the employment prospects of nurses, as such remarks could deter new blood from joining the profession. “I do not want recent comments, such as claims that ‘[nursing] graduation equals unemployment’, to dampen the interest of our younger generation in joining the nursing profession,” Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Thursday. “Training nurses takes time, and [the number...