China reports record wave of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus
BEIJING (Bloomberg): A city in China's southern industrial hub has recorded 3,195 chikungunya cases so far this month, the country's biggest outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus since it first emerged in the mainland nearly two decades ago.
Foshan city - in Guangdong Province, just north of Hong Kong - first reported an imported chikungunya case earlier in July, China's national broadcaster CCTV said, citing briefings from local authorities. Infections have soared by more than 2,700 in the past week alone.
While Chinese health officials have yet to explain what's behind the outbreak, Guangdong has launched stricter anti-mosquito measures, including urging residents to clear stagnant water and make sure drainage channels remain unobstructed.
Chikungunya, first identified in 1952 in Tanzania, is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, the World Health Organization says. The virus causes fever and severe joint pain, and other symptoms can include headaches, muscle pain, vomiting and fatigue.
The outbreak in Guangdong, an often hot and humid area of southern China, is the latest sign that tropical diseases - from dengue to malaria and zika - are expanding their reach, as climate change lets mosquitoes live in new territories that have become warmer and wetter. Increased international travel and low population immunity are also helping the spread.
An explosion in cases in the Indian Ocean since the start of 2025 has sparked concerns of a spread to other countries, leading the WHO to issue an urgent call to action this week, Reuters reported. France and Italy, thousands of miles from the region, have both found locally-acquired chikungunya cases this year.
"The surge in chikungunya cases is likely due to favorable climatic conditions that allow blooms of the Aedes mosquito population,' said Robert Jones, Assistant Professor in the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "These are aggressive, day-biting mosquitoes that thrive in warm, wet conditions.'
More than five billion people live in areas across 119 countries at risk from chikungunya, the WHO told reporters in Geneva, Reuters said. Some 220,000 cases and 80 related deaths have been reported in 14 countries and territories globally so far this year, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
China recorded its first chikungunya case in 2008, an imported infection detected at an airport in Guangdong. The first locally transmitted cases - infecting 253 people - were reported in the province two years later. Since then, only sporadic cases have been found, in Yunnan and Fujian provinces.
Globally, population susceptibility is likely elevated in areas where chikungunya outbreaks haven't tended to occur, said Patricia Gallego Delgado, Associate Director at London-based disease forecasting firm Airfinity Ltd.
The wave is "attributable to lower levels of population immunity as individuals in these regions may have had limited or no prior exposure to the virus,' she said.
-- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Kidney disease patient determined to keep working
Compiled by FAZLEENA AZIZ and R. ARAVINTHAN 'AS long as I can get up, I will continue to work' – these are the words of Azmiza Zainol, 38, who suffers from chronic kidney disease but is still able to make a living, Utusan Malaysia reported. Azmiza, who works as a cook at a chicken processing company in Alor Setar, has been going for dialysis for the past 15 years. She starts her day with the procedure, three times a week, before heading to work at 10.30am. 'It is part of the fight to earn a living for my family.' She is grateful that her boss gives her the flexibility to work until 4.30pm. 'I want to be independent and not be a burden to anyone. I can just stay home and receive aid, but working helps my mental state and I also get to meet people,' said Azmiza, who was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of 16. She currently receives aid from PERKESO for her dialysis. > Singer Elyana said a photo uploaded on Instagram last Sunday was not her latest, Berita Harian reported. She clarified that the photo was taken several months ago when she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment. 'I am still undergoing chemotherapy,' she said at a charity event attended by current and former cancer patients on Sunday. Elyana, whose full name is Erneelya Elyana Emrizal, said despite having to undergo chemotherapy, life goes on as usual. 'My husband and I work together to manage the house, work and children. That is the joy of being married, going through ups and downs together. 'I look like a 'Power Ranger' outside, but when I get home I am really weak. That is the reality, and sometimes it is heartbreaking when people say I am pretending to be sick to get attention. 'What do I gain by lying? I want to give others encouragement so that when they see me, maybe it will boost their will to fight (cancer),' she said. Elyana's Instagram post attracted the attention of netizens who were concerned about her health status. (The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
UN chief says hunger must never be used as ‘weapon of war'
More than 280 million Africans are malnourished, with nearly 3.4 million on the brink of famine. (EPA Images pic) ADDIS ABABA : UN chief Antonio Guterres today said food must not be used as a weapon of war as world leaders gathered for a food summit in Africa, where 280 million people face hunger and starvation. The African Union, for its part, urged donors to provide greater support for the world's poorest continent, which is struggling with poverty, unrest and the effects of climate change. 'Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,' Antonio Guterres told the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa via video link. 'Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains and humanitarian aid,' he said. 'Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,' he warned amid a severely deteriorating crisis in Gaza, whose population of more than two million is facing famine and malnutrition. The World Health Organization has warned malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory has reached 'alarming levels' since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume but more than 100 NGOs have warned that 'mass starvation' was spreading in the besieged territory. Millions going hungry The summit takes place against the backdrop of aid cuts by the US and other western nations that are badly affecting much of the developing world. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, head of the African Union's executive commission, said food insecurity was on the rise across Africa, blaming 'climate shocks, conflicts and economic disruptions'. 'At this crucial moment, how many children and mothers on the continent are sleeping hungry?' he asked. 'Millions, certainly. The urgency of the situation is beyond doubt.' Youssouf said that more than 280 million Africans were malnourished, with 'nearly 3.4 million… on the brink of famine'. Roughly 10 million people had been displaced due to drought, floods and cyclones, he added. Youssouf urged AU member states to devote 10 percent of their gross domestic product to agriculture to help foster 'nutritional resilience'. 'But we cannot do this alone. We call on our partners to honour their commitments to finance and support African solutions,' he said. Sudan is 'the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered', Othman Belbeisi, the regional director of the UN's migration agency, IOM, told reporters last week. Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than seven million people.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
WHO says malnutrition reaching ‘alarming levels' in Gaza
Protesters gather near the UN headquarters in New York to demand food access for Palestinians facing famine in Gaza. (EPA Images pic) GENEVA : Malnutrition rates are reaching 'alarming levels' in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the 'deliberate blocking' of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives. 'Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July,' the WHO said in a statement. Of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July – including 24 children under five, one child aged over five, and 38 adults, it added. 'Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting,' the UN health agency said. 'The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.' Israel on Sunday began a limited 'tactical pause' in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. But the WHO called for sustained efforts to 'flood' the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food, and for the expedited delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, plus essential medicines and supplies. 'This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration', the Geneva-based agency said. On Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the situation 'mass starvation – and it's man-made'. 'Dangerous cycle' of death Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, the WHO said Sunday, citing its Nutrition Cluster partners. It said the percentage of children aged six to 59 months suffering from acute malnutrition had tripled in the city since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Palestinian territory. 'These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities,' the WHO said. The WHO said that in the first two weeks of July, more than 5,000 children under five had been admitted for outpatient treatment of malnutrition – 18% of them with the most life-threatening form, severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The 6,500 children admitted for malnutrition treatment in June was the highest number since the war began in October 2023. A further 73 children with SAM and medical complications have been hospitalised in July, up from 39 in June. 'This surge in cases is overwhelming the only four specialised malnutrition treatment centres,' the WHO said. Furthermore, the organisation said the breakdown of water and sanitation services was 'driving a dangerous cycle of illness and death'. As for pregnant and breastfeeding women, Nutrition Cluster screening data showed that more than 40% were severely malnourished, the WHO said. 'It is not only hunger that is killing people, but also the desperate search for food,' the UN health agency said. 'Families are being forced to risk their lives for a handful of food, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions,' it added. The UN rights office says Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May. Nearly three-quarters of them died near GHF sites.
