Epidemic situation stable, but vigilance urged

China's overall epidemic situation ahead of the five-day May Day holiday starting on May 1 is stable and under control, but health authorities have called for heightened vigilance against mosquito-borne illnesses, intestinal infections, and imported mpox cases.

Xi Jingjing, spokeswoman of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, said during a news conference on Tuesday that southern provinces in China will soon enter the peak season for mosquito-borne illnesses, with the risk of local infection clusters rising.

Common types of mosquito-borne diseases include malaria, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and yellow fever.

Xi added that the number of measles and COVID-19 cases have trended upward slightly, but their overall prevalence is within expected range and remains at a low level. The number of norovirus infections is expected to fall gradually.

Meanwhile, cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and other intestinal infections are rising as their usual peak season is approaching.

"Additionally, it is important to keep close monitoring of and guard against imported clade Ib variant of mpox and an increasing risk of local transmission triggered by cases from abroad," she said.

Compared to the clade Ia mpox, the clade Ib variant is more contagious but less deadly. The variant's spread outside Africa since July 2024 prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency in the following August.