China tightens screening for mpox at entry points

The General Administration of Customs said on Friday morning that it will tighten screening at the entry points for incoming travelers with high risk of contracting mpox after the World Health Organization declared on Wednesday the outbreak in Africa a public health emergency.

The administration said that for incoming travelers from countries and regions affected by mpox, those who have had contact with mpox patients or have experienced fever, headache, back pain, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, rash, mucosal lesions and other suspicious symptoms should report their situation to customs officials upon entry.

Customs officials will take medical measures and carry out testing on them, the administration said in a circular.

It added that these preventive measures took effect immediately and will last for six months. During this period, countries and regions newly identified by the WHO as experiencing mpox outbreaks shall be subject to the provisions of this notice.

For transportation vehicles, containers, goods and other items from countries and regions seeing spread of the disease, if they have been contaminated by the virus or are deemed at risk of contamination, customs authorities will carry out sanitary procedures on them, the administration said.

The WHO said on Wednesday that the mpox outbreak in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern — its highest form of alert.

Data shows that 13 countries in Africa had reported 17,541 mpox and 517 related deaths this year as of Aug 9. Congo alone reported 16,789 cases and 511 deaths.

When announcing the emergency status, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that a new and more deadly strain of mpox in Congo, and its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously registered mpox and the potential for its further spread within Africa and beyond is "very worrying".

"It is clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives," he said.

This is the second time for the WHO to designate the mpox outbreak as a global emergency since the virus spread rapidly in May 2022.

A previous emergency classification was declared in July 2022 and lifted in May last year due to a sustained decline in global cases.

China reported the first imported case in September 2022 and the first domestic case in last June. The nation classified mpox as a Class B infectious disease — on par with COVID-19 and AIDS — in September last year.

Mpox can spread through close contact and usually causes only mild symptoms. The majority of deaths occur in people with weakened immunity such as HIV/AIDS patients, according to the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention.

The upsurge in infections since May 2022 mostly concentrates in men who have sex with men. In countries where the disease is not endemic, the death rate is around 0.1 percent, the administration added.