Foshan succeeds in curbing the spread of chikungunya

Foshan city in Guangdong province has achieved results in curbing the spread of chikungunya fever, with more than 90 percent of the patients having recovered, a senior official has said.

Wen Xi, vice-mayor of Foshan, said the daily number of chikungunya fever reported in the city has reduced to 148 cases on Friday, compared to 647 cases detected on July 29, the peak day.

"And the number of cases reported in Foshan has demonstrated a continuous downward trend since July 29, with the daily number of new cases reducing to below 200 for the past five consecutive days," she said.

Wen made the remarks at a news conference in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city on Saturday.

Foshan, which is hardest hit by chikungunya fever in Guangdong, represented about 95 percent of the total cases reported in the province, China's most populous region with a population of more than 127 million.

But locals should not lower their vigilance, Wen said, adding that relevant departments would continue to spare no efforts to eliminate mosquitoes to fully block the spread of the chikungunya virus in the city and consolidate the hard-won achievements in curbing the disease in the weeks to come.

Kang Min, director of the Institute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the rapid rise of chikungunya in Foshan had been preliminarily contained by the end of July, and the recent prevention and control measures have further consolidated the results.

"After weeks of efforts made to eliminate mosquitoes, now the mosquito vector density in Foshan has significantly decreased, indicating the transmission risk has been contained," said Kang.

But Kang warned that the ongoing flood season, along with typhoons, heavy rainfall, and other weather conditions, has increased mosquito activity, making the situation of chikungunya fever prevention and control severe in the near future.

Yan Haiming, a senior doctor with the infectious disease department at the Foshan No 1 People's Hospital, said most of the chikungunya patients in Foshan develop mild symptoms.

"Muscle pain, fatigue, and nausea are more common in elderly people over 65 years old. And most patients' symptoms can subside within about a week, and no serious sequelae have been diagnosed," he added.

Chikungunya fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the chikungunya virus, transmitted through the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, commonly known as spotted mosquitoes, and can occur in people of all ages.