Laws will be amended to give the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department the power to enter private land to conduct anti-mosquito operations, the department's Community Medicine Consultant Dr Ho Yuk-yin says.

Speaking on a radio talkshow this morning, Dr Ho said the legislative amendments also aim to empower the department to prosecute management companies which fail to conduct proper anti-mosquito measures.

The proposal will be tabled to the Legislative Council this year.

Dr Ho said the department's recent survey on local Japanese encephalitis vectors found the Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquito in a number of urban areas.

Illegal farming

Although the exact breeding places of the species have yet to be located, Dr Ho attributed the detection to illegal farming activities.

The counsultant said there is a risk of spreading Japanese encephalitis because a lot of the mosquitoes are found in the New Territories, particularly in Yuen Long and Northern District where there are a lot of migratory birds and pig farms.

However, the Japanese encephalitis risk in Hong Kong is lower than other places like the Mainland, Taiwan and Japan.

Noting there are no pig farms in urban areas, Dr Ho urged the public not to panic.