The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2 travel alert on Friday, advising those planning to visit China to practice enhanced precautions due to a significant chikungunya virus outbreak.
Newsweek has reached out to the CDC via media inquiry form Saturday during non-working hours.
Why It Matters
Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes and can cause symptoms such as fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and rash.
While symptoms can be severe and occasionally last for months, most cases resolve without hospitalization or death. There is currently no specific antiviral medicine for chikungunya, so treatment focuses on managing symptoms.
The CDC advisory followed a surge in infections in southern China, raising concerns about travelers unknowingly importing the mosquito-borne illness to new regions.
The outbreak highlights the persistent challenges posed by emerging infectious diseases in a highly connected world and the importance of prevention for U.S. travelers to affected destinations.
What To Know
The CDC’s Level 2 alert—designated as “Practice Enhanced Precautions”—was announced after Chinese health authorities reported nearly 5,000 chikungunya infections, primarily in Guangdong province.
The outbreak began in early July, with over 3,000 cases identified in a single week. In Foshan, a major manufacturing city in Guangdong, local officials accounted for about 60 percent of the reported cases.
As of July 30, the total number of documented cases in Guangdong surpassed 6,500, with most classified as mild and no deaths reported by regional health authorities, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.
The Aedes mosquitos bite during the daytime and patients can see symptoms anywhere from three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
The CDC has warned that internationally mobile travelers may further spread the virus to regions where it has not previously circulated.
On Saturday, the first imported case since 2019 was reported in Hong Kong in a child who spent two weeks in Shunde district, the South China Morning Post reported.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong urged local authorities in Foshan to “strictly implement port health quarantine measures,” and called for heightened mosquito control efforts to “effectively eliminate mosquitoes and cut off epidemic spread channels,” according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency.
Officials have released thousands of mosquito-eating fish in the Guangdong province in an effort to curb the rising number of cases, according to a report from state-run media outlet China Daily.
Because no specific antiviral medicine is available for chikungunya, prevention—through vaccination, insect repellent, long sleeves, and mosquito control measures—remains the most effective defense, according to the CDC.
Globally, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported that chikungunya has affected approximately 240,000 people and caused 90 deaths across at least 16 countries so far this year.
The mortality rate for chikungunya remains low and fatalities are rare.
What People Are Saying
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on its website: “Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease that causes fever and severe joint pain. It is caused by a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae.”
It continued: “The name ‘chikungunya’ derives from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “that which bends up” and describes the stooped appearance of infected people with severe joint pain (arthralgia).”
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on its website: “Outbreaks have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There is a risk the virus can spread to unaffected areas by infected travelers.”
What Happens Next?
Travelers to affected areas of China are advised by the CDC to practice enhanced protective measures against mosquito bites, including using EPA-registered insect repellent and staying in accommodations with window screens or air conditioning.
Chinese public health officials have stepped up surveillance and vector control campaigns in Foshan and Guangdong, seeking to contain the spread and prevent the escalation of severe cases.
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