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1INSIDE THIS ISSUETHE HONG KONG COLLEGE OF FAMILY PHYSICIANSwww.hkcfp.org.hkMessage from the President17After Hours:%u904a%u5a01%u5c3c%u65af%u8056%u99ac%u53ef%u5ee3%u5834%u5f8c%u96a8%u60f320College News (Con%u2019t):20The Diary of a Family Doctor21 Meeting Highlights22Board of Education News24College CalendarIssue267May 202601Message from the President03 College News:03Internal Affairs Committee News04Specialty Board News; Young Doctors Committee News05HKCFP Family Medicine Career Talk 202610News Corner: Anticipatory Care - 24-Hour Gymnasiums: Considerations for Safe Exercise in Extreme Hours? 12Feature: Voices from the Frontline:What Our Family Doctors Say About FP Links14College News (Con%u2019t):14HKPCC 202606Membership Committee News; Board of Vocational Training & Standards News07HKCFP Certificate Course in Essential Family Medicine 2026-202708Diploma in Family Medicine (HKCFP) 2026-2027(Continued on page 2)Syndrome (HPS). HFRS is caused by Old World Hantaviruses in Europe, Asia and Africa, while HPS is caused by New World Hantaviruses in North and South America. Infection can be spread by being bitten by infected rodents; eating food contaminated with infected rodent%u2019s urine, droppings or saliva; touching the eyes, nose and mouth after contacting objects contaminated with an infected rodent%u2019s urine, droppings or saliva. The incubation period is between 1-8 weeks after exposure. In HFRS, initial symptoms are comprised of sudden onset of severe headache, back and abdominal pain, pyrexia, nausea, and blurred vision. Flushing of the face, inflammation or redness of the eyes and rash can also happen. Subsequently, hypotension and acute renal failure might develop. The mortality rate was reported to be between 1% to 15%. In HPS, the early symptoms are lethargy, pyrexia and myalgia, especially in the thighs, hips, back and sometimes shoulders. Other possible symptoms include headache, dizziness, chills, nausea, and gastrointestinal upset. Respiratory symptoms and dyspnoea may follow 4 to 10 days later. The mortality rate was reported to be up to 40%. The management remains supportive and currently there is no vaccine against Hantaviruses available in Hong Kong.The World Health Organisation (WHO) received a report on 2 May 2026 that a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness were found while travelling on board a cruise ship with 147 passengers and crew. (https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON599) Up to 4 May 2026, seven cases have been identified (two laboratory confirmed cases of Hantavirus and five suspected cases, with ongoing investigations), including three deaths, one critically ill patient and three with mild symptoms. The illness onset was reported to be between 6 and 28 April 2026 and with symptoms of fever, gastrointestinal upset, progressing to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock. Human Hantavirus infection is a rare but severe disease that can be deadly, it is usually acquired through contact with the urine, faeces, or saliva of infected rodents. Rarely, human to human transmission has been reported. WHO currently assesses the risk to the global population as low and ongoing monitoring the epidemiological situation is being carried out with update on the risk assessment.According to the Centre of Health Protection (CHP), Hantaviruses are a group of viruses belonging to the Bunyaviridae family that are mainly found in rodents (such as rats, mice and voles). (https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/healthtopics/content/24/3057.html) In human, there are two main groups of diseases caused by Hantaviruses, including Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus Pulmonary