CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS SPREADS IN CHINA

More than 7,000 cases of the chikungunya virus have been reported in China since July. This has prompted authorities in the country’s Guangdong province to implement measures similar to those followed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus, which is usually found in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, is very rare in China.

Those who have tested positive for the virus are required to stay in the hospital with a mosquito net around their bed at all times. Once they test negative or they’ve been in the hospital for a week, the patients can be discharged.

BBC reports that the virus spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito, causing fever and severe joint pain, which sometimes can last for years. It’s not contagious and can only spread if a person is bitten by a mosquito that then bites other people.

Up until Monday, all the positive cases were only reported in the southern Guangdong province. But a 12-year-old boy tested positive for the chikungunya virus in Hong Kong on Monday. He developed a rash, fever and joint pain after travelling to Foshan last month.

The United States has urged its citizens travelling to China to exercise "increased caution" following the outbreak.

Image credit: Insects in the city