KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU Studies the Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis in Hong Kong – The First Largest Population Territory-based Study

A research team of HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine performed a 19-month territory-wide study involving 10,256 individuals on the prevalence of five viral hepatitis in 2015 and 2016. It found the overall prevalence of hepatitis B in Hong Kong was 7.8%, yet 48% of infected participants were unaware of it. Since vaccine cuts the infection rate by 85% and many hepatitis B carriers were unaware of their situation, the HKU team called for a territory-wide screening for hepatitis and promotion for vaccination, especially if Hong Kong is to achieve the public health objectives of the World Health Organization in 2030.

HKU and Imperial College London develop a new robotic platform technology for inexpensive diagnosis of reproductive disorder

HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and Imperial College London collaborated to develop a new robotic platform technology to measure hormone pulse patterns in reproductive disorder. The new biomedical technology enables repeated or even continuous measurement of hormone and other biomolecule concentrations. It is expected to be applied to a wide range of diagnostic scenarios in the future, with the cost largely reduced. The team expects the technology to be applied in clinical diagnosis in 10 years’ time.

HKU microbiologists discover novel drug compounds for broad-spectrum antiviral therapy including SARS, MERs and H7N9

An HKU team led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and Dr Shuofeng Yuan of the Department of Microbiology, has found a chemical compound called AM580 which is able to inhibit the activities of seven to eight types of virus, including the deadly SARS coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and the bird flu H7N9 virus. The compound stops the virus from multiplying by making changes to the host’s cells. As the virus fails to duplicate, it will naturally be wiped out by white blood cells, causing a person to gradually recover from the infection. US provisional patent application has been filed for this important discovery. HKU hopes that clinical trials can be completed in five years and that patients can start using the drug in six to eight years.

Faculty Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018

The annual Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards recognise each Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organisations. Results of the 2018 Faculty KE Awards are now available.

HKU medical research team reveals damage to biliary system by ketamine abuse reversible after quitting

A research team of the HKU Department of Medicine and North District Hospital’s Department of Surgery performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 257 ketamine abusers who had been abusing ketamine for an average duration of 10.5 years. Sixty percent of participants had abnormalities of the biliary system on MRI. Biliary tract damage was reversible in six participants who had a second MRI scan after quitting ketamine abuse, which found all participants had improvement in abdominal symptoms and normalization of liver enzymes. The reversibility of biliary tract damage after quitting ketamine and the development of liver cirrhosis after longstanding exposure are important public health messages which should be emphasized in educational efforts when combating against substance abuse. Dr Walter Seto Wai-kay, HKU Clinical Associate Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology said the study enhances their understanding of the toxic effects of ketamine on the biliary system and the liver. He hopes the findings will motivate current drug abusers to quit, and will encourage our community’s efforts in ‘saying no’ to drug abuse.

Students smoking less, HKU study shows

An HKU School of Public Health study, commissioned by the Food and Health Bureau and conducted from November 2016 to June 2017, revealed that smoking prevalence among Primary Four to Six and Form One to Six students was 0.1% and 2.5% respectively, representing a drop of 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points compared to the 2014/15 survey. According to the latest Thematic Household Survey published by the Census and Statistics Department, conducted from June to September 2017, among teenagers aged between 15 and 19, daily cigarette smoking prevalence also decreased from 1.1% in 2015 to 1.0% in 2017.

Making Our City More Walkable for All

The HKUrbanLab, the research and knowledge exchange arm of the Faculty of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong, is working with Civic Exchange and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service on a project called ‘Walking with Wheels’, aimed at finding the best barrier-free routes for people in wheelchairs and those with prams and trolleys. Watch the full video.