chikungunya fever

A national teleconference chaired by China's National Health Commission (NHC) was held in Beijing on Tuesday to address the growing chikungunya fever outbreak, media reported on Wednesday, as South China's Guangdong Province reported a total of 4,824 cases as of July 26. The meeting urged decisive measures to curb the epidemic, enhance mosquito control, and strengthen early detection to safeguard public health.

The meeting emphasized the need to strengthen risk assessments of the chikungunya fever outbreak, and adopt decisive prevention and control measures, to firmly safeguard public health and overall socioeconomic stability. 

The meeting called for enhanced regional coordination and interdepartmental collaboration, including multi-channel monitoring and early warning systems to prevent the spread of the epidemic beyond affected areas and to block imported cases from abroad. 

It also urged intensifying health campaigns, improving environmental sanitation, and conducting targeted disinfection of high-risk areas to effectively control mosquitoes. 

Additionally, the meeting stressed the need to strengthen quality control of testing and inspections in medical institutions, enhancing outpatient and emergency department management to improve early detection capabilities, and making every effort to prevent severe cases and deaths. 

It also highlighted the importance of health education, standardized dissemination of epidemic information, and scientific guidance on personal protective measures to boost public confidence. 

Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, attended the meeting and delivered a speech, while Shen Hongbing, deputy director of the Commission and Director of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, chaired it.

According to the latest data, as of July 26, a total of 4,824 cases of chikungunya fever had been reported in Guangdong, with multiple localities in the province, as well as the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), confirming infections, media reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Macao SAR health authorities intensified mosquito control efforts in high-risk areas to combat chikungunya fever. According to the SAR government, Macao has recorded six imported chikungunya fever cases and one local dengue fever case.

O Lam, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR, inspected affected areas and received updates on prevention and control efforts. A cross-departmental coordination meeting was also held on Tuesday to discuss mosquito control strategies at construction sites in Macao.

Macao's health authorities stated that, to curb the disease spread, they are offering free dengue and chikungunya fever testing to all medical institutions in the SAR.

On July 8, an outbreak of chikungunya fever in Foshan City of Guangdong sparked widespread public concern. The first case was linked to local transmission from an imported case, with the epidemic spreading rapidly thereafter. 

Despite the surge in cases, Foshan health authorities emphasized that all infections have been mild, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and the virus is primarily spread through Aedes mosquito bites. Common symptoms include high fever, severe joint pain, and rashes, which typically resolve on their own, though elderly individuals or those with underlying conditions may experience prolonged joint pain.

Multiple experts called for vigilance against the relatively unfamiliar disease. Research also indicates that global climate change and urbanization are accelerating the spread of vector organisms, with mosquitoes carrying multiple pathogens posing major challenges to global public health, The Paper reported.