Press Release: Veritas Press C.I.C.
Author: Kamran Faqir
Article Date Published: 31 July 2025 at 13:24 GMT
Category: Asia | China | Chikungunya Outbreak
Source(s): Veritas Press C.I.C. | Multi News Agencies
CDC, WHO raise alarm as mosquito-borne virus surges across Guangdong; nearly 5,000 cases recorded in less than a month.
The United States is preparing to issue an official travel advisory for China following a sharp rise in chikungunya virus infections in the country’s southern Guangdong Province, home to more than 126 million people and one of Asia’s busiest transit hubs.
According to Bloomberg News, a spokesperson from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the agency is “aware of the reported chikungunya outbreak in Guangdong Province in China and is currently assessing the size and extent of the outbreak.” The CDC is expected to update its travel notice for China in the coming days, warning American travellers of the elevated risk.
Nearly 5,000 cases have been reported across China since early July, with over 2,800 cases recorded in Guangdong in the last week alone. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports that at least 240,000 chikungunya cases and 90 deaths have occurred across 16 countries so far this year, marking one of the most significant resurgences of the disease in over a decade.
A Rapid and Alarming Spread:
The chikungunya virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which are also known vectors for dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. These mosquitoes thrive in warm, humid climates and are especially active during daylight hours.
Symptoms include abrupt fever, severe joint pain (often in the hands and feet), rash, headache, and muscle aches. While rarely fatal, the disease can cause debilitating pain and, in some cases, long-term joint issues. The elderly, pregnant individuals, and those with preexisting conditions are particularly vulnerable.
“There is currently no specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya,” the CDC warns in its guidance. “Medical care is supportive, and prevention through mosquito bite avoidance remains the most effective approach.”
China Mobilises For Containment:
In response to the outbreak, Chinese health authorities have ramped up mosquito control operations in urban and rural areas of Guangdong. Measures include aerial insecticide spraying (fogging), public disinfection drives, and aggressive awareness campaigns aimed at eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, such as stagnant water in containers, gutters, and construction sites.
Emergency health teams have been dispatched to infection hotspots, with temporary clinics set up to handle patient overflow. Community health workers are going door-to-door in high-incidence zones to distribute mosquito repellent, nets, and informational materials. Hospitals in cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been placed on high alert for new patients presenting with fever and joint pain.
Despite these efforts, health officials fear the virus may already be spreading beyond Guangdong’s borders. With Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport serving tens of millions of passengers annually, and with heightened summer tourism, experts warn that the risk of regional and international transmission is growing.
Global Health Authorities Sound The Alarm:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global alert last week, urging countries to prepare for a possible repeat of the early-2000s chikungunya epidemic that swept through the Indian Ocean region and spread to Europe and the Americas. WHO medical officer Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez said that an estimated 5.6 billion people across 119 countries live in areas currently at risk of chikungunya transmission.
“Since 2004, chikungunya outbreaks have become more frequent and geographically widespread,” said Dr. Rojas Alvarez, citing genetic mutations in the virus that have improved its ability to spread via multiple mosquito species. “As global travel and climate patterns change, the potential for explosive transmission grows.”
Several Indian Ocean islands, La Réunion, Mayotte, and Mauritius, have reported fresh outbreaks this year, echoing patterns from two decades ago. In 2005–2006, a major epidemic in La Réunion infected more than 260,000 people, about one-third of the island’s population, and later reached Italy, France, and beyond.
US Travellers Urged To Take Precautions:
As the CDC prepares to formally update its travel advisory, Americans planning trips to southern China, particularly Guangdong, are strongly urged to take preventive measures. These include:
- Using EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
- Wearing long-sleeved clothing and pants, especially during daylight hours.
- Staying in accommodations with window screens, air conditioning, or mosquito nets.
- Eliminating standing water in and around lodging areas.
Travellers returning from affected regions should monitor for symptoms for at least two weeks and seek medical care if they develop fever, rash, or joint pain. Co-infection with dengue or Zika is also possible, and accurate diagnosis is crucial.
Surveillance, Climate, And The Broader Public Health Challenge:
Experts have repeatedly warned that rising global temperatures, urbanisation, and extreme weather events, including flooding, have expanded mosquito habitats into previously unaffected regions. In some U.S. states, including Florida, Texas, and California, public health departments have already detected the Aedes mosquito species, raising fears that local outbreaks could occur if travellers return with the virus.
“With diseases like chikungunya, we are now seeing a collision of public health and climate instability,” said Dr. Amina Farouk, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “What was once considered a tropical threat is increasingly becoming a global challenge.”
In anticipation of potential imported cases, hospitals and health agencies in several Asian countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, have issued chikungunya alerts and stepped up traveller screenings at international airports. Australia’s Department of Health has also urged clinicians to consider chikungunya in patients presenting with unexplained fever and joint pain.
A Global Test Of Preparedness:
With China’s Guangdong Province at the epicentre of the current outbreak and with increasing global travel during the summer season, the window for containment is rapidly narrowing.
“Chikungunya’s reemergence is a test of how well our public health systems can respond to fast-moving vector-borne diseases,” said Dr. Leila Vasquez, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University. “We’ve been here before. The question now is whether we’ve learned from past outbreaks, or are doomed to repeat them.”
For now, heightened vigilance, rapid response, and personal responsibility remain the strongest defences against the spread of this painful and persistent disease.
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