Hong Kong on Wednesday reported its twelfth imported case of chikungunya fever this year, involving a man who recently visited Sri Lanka.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the patient, 34, travelled to the South Asian country on August 15 and was bitten by mosquitoes there.

"While still in Sri Lanka, he developed a fever, headache and joint pain on August 19, followed by a rash on August 24," it said.

While his fever subsided before returning to Hong Kong on Monday, the patient's joint pain persisted and he sought treatment at a private hospital the following day.

"Since the patient was afebrile before arriving in Hong Kong, he was no longer infectious to mosquitoes and did not require hospitalisation in Hong Kong," the CHP added.