Quarantine authorities are urging travellers to take precautions
against the mosquito-borne disease dengue fever after some Southeast Asian
countries have reported cases.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have recently reported outbreaks
of the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
To stop it spreading to China, travellers from regions subject to dengue
fever are being asked to declare symptoms such as fever, headaches, bone or
joint and muscular pains and rashes associated with the disease at Chinese
quarantine and inspection stations.
The request was made in a bulletin issued Thursday by the State General
Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine.
If travellers develop any of these symptoms after entering China, they should
get medical treatment immediately, said the bulletin.
The fever was reported for the first time in Bhutan, where 1,565 cases were
reported between July 1 and 16. There were no deaths, according to statistics
posted on WHO's official website http://www.who.int.
By July 19, Sri Lanka had registered 9,062 cases and 59 deaths, and in
Indonesia, 59,321 cases of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever and 669
deaths were recorded by July 7.
Bangladesh reported three deaths by July 21, the WHO said.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection which in recent years has become a major
international public health concern. No vaccine is available for dengue and the
infection does not spread directly from person to person, experts said.
To stop dengue-carrying mosquitoes entering China, quarantine authorities
said all transport equipment and containers from infected areas should be
disinfected.
Quarantine officials Thursday advised people who may be heading for the four
Southeast Asian countries to get the latest information about the disease from
local quarantine agencies or health care centres.
Malaria control
In a related development, the Ministry of Health on Wednesday called
for conscientious efforts to monitor, report and control malaria to prevent
outbreaks in China.
In particular, malaria prevention should target Chinese migrant workers,
especially those returned from Myanmar, or working on the Sino-Mynmar borders,
the ministry said.
By the end of last month, 80 malaria cases, including two deaths, had been
reported among rural migrants in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. The farmers
had worked on the Sino-Myanmar border, the ministry said.
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