US considering China travel warning after nearly 5,000 cases of deadly virus: report
China has recorded nearly 5,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness after one infection was found in early July. Guangdong, a province near Hong Kong, has recorded almost 3,000 cases in the last week alone. There have been 90 deaths and 240,000 cases across at least 16 countries so far this years, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
A spokesperson for the CDC told Bloomberg News: 'CDC is aware of the reported chikungunya outbreak in Guangdong Province in China and is currently assessing the size and extent of the outbreak.' The Independent has contacted the CDC for comment.
Chikungunya virus is spread via an infected mosquito bite. Outbreaks have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There is a risk the virus can spread to unaffected areas by infected travellers, according to CDC guidance.
The infection can cause fever and joint pain, with other symptoms including headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash. In serious instances, the virus can cause long-term disability.
There are no medicines to treat chikungunya, with travellers recommended to take preventative measures to protect against mosquito bites.
The Atlanta-based agency issues travel health notices for people to be aware of precautions they might need to take while travelling amid outbreaks and natural disasters.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an urgent call for action last Tuesday to prevent a repeat of the chikungunya virus epidemic that swept the globe two decades ago.
They reported new outbreaks linked to the Indian Ocean region had spread to Europe and other continents.
Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer at the WHO, said that there was an estimated 5.6 billion people living in areas across 119 countries at risk of the virus.
Since 2004, outbreaks of chikungunyahave become more frequent and widespread due to viral adaptations which allow the virus to spread more easily.
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We know that social support is key during pregnancy'. The team also found that one in five study participants experienced housing insecurity during their pregnancy, a factor that she said greatly affects perinatal health and is rarely documented in hospital records. They also created a tool to measure racial microagressions from healthcare providers and in the mothers' everyday life, since many in the cohort said that they experienced harmful interactions that Slaughter-Acey said may explain why they felt unsupported. For Slaughter-Acey, the study findings 'highlight how structural inequities – across housing, healthcare, and personal history – intersect to shape maternal and infant outcomes. And they underscore why we need research that listens to and reflects the full complexity of Black women's experiences.' NIH research funding will probably continue to take a hit under the Trump administration. A new Trump administration policy requiring that multiyear grants be paid upfront lowers the odds that a research proposal will be accepted. As a result, university labs may close.
