Chikungunya Outbreak in China Sparks Pandemic Fears

An outbreak of the chikungunya virus in China has sparked global pandemic fears, prompting Beijing to impose COVID-19-like quarantines in areas of the country, according to the Daily Mail.

More than 7,000 infections have been reported in the city of Foshan, in Guangdong Province, and patients have reportedly been isolated in hospital wards draped in mosquito netting.

The Mail reported that patients infected with chikungunya are required to remain in the hospital for a week or until they test negative for the virus. No deaths have been reported thus far.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Guangdong Province, urging Americans who travel to the area to use insect repellent, long clothing and window screens to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Approximately 3,000 cases of the virus have been reported in the past week in at least 12 other cities in Guangdong Province, according to the Mail, bringing the total number of infections in China to more than 10,000.

At the beginning of the outbreak, Chinese officials had reportedly ordered travelers from Foshan to quarantine at home for 14 days; that restriction has since been lifted, according to the report.

Hong Kong confirmed its first case of chikungunya this week in a 12-year-old boy who developed a fever, rash and joint pain after a July visit to Foshan.

Rarely fatal, the virus can cause debilitating symptoms and is spread by the Aedes mosquito, which also carries dengue and Zika.

The CDC is urging Americans who plan to travel to China to get vaccinated for chikungunya. There are two vaccines approved for use against it in the United States.

So far in 2025, approximately 240,000 chikungunya cases and 90 related deaths have been reported in 16 countries, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

In the United States, there have been 46 cases of the virus this year, all of which were contracted by travelers returning from high-risk areas, according to CDC data. No U.S. deaths have been reported.

Commonly reported symptoms of chikungunya include a sudden onset of fever, intense joint pain, muscle aches, headache, nausea, fatigue and skin rash.

While the acute phase of illness usually resolves within one to two weeks, joint pain may linger for weeks to months after infection.

In rare cases, the virus can cause severe complications involving the heart, eyes and nervous system.

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