The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention is set to issue a travel notice to China as potentially-deadly chikungunya infections rise in the country, according to reports by Bloomberg News.
China has recorded nearly 5,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness after one infection was found in early July. Guangdong, a province near Hong Kong, has recorded almost 3,000 cases in the last week alone. There have been 90 deaths and 240,000 cases across at least 16 countries so far this years, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
A spokesperson for the CDC told The Independent: “CDC is aware of the reported chikungunya outbreak in Guangdong Province in China and is currently assessing the size and extent of the outbreak.”
Chikungunya virus is spread via an infected mosquito bite. Outbreaks have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There is a risk the virus can spread to unaffected areas by infected travellers, according to CDC guidance.
The infection can cause fever and joint pain, with other symptoms including headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash. In serious instances, the virus can cause long-term disability.
There are no medicines to treat chikungunya, with travellers recommended to take preventative measures to protect against mosquito bites.
The Atlanta-based agency issues travel health notices for people to be aware of precautions they might need to take while travelling amid outbreaks and natural disasters.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an urgent call for action last Tuesday to prevent a repeat of the chikungunya virus epidemic that swept the globe two decades ago.
They reported new outbreaks linked to the Indian Ocean region had spread to Europe and other continents.
Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer at the WHO, said that there was an estimated 5.6 billion people living in areas across 119 countries at risk of the virus.
Since 2004, outbreaks of chikungunyahave become more frequent and widespread due to viral adaptations which allow the virus to spread more easily.
