As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today.
The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month.
Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716 cases this year.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television said that 2,770 of last week’s cases were from Foshan and 65 were from Guangzhou.
In response to the surge in infections in southern China, the US on Friday issued a level 2 travel alert, or “practice enhanced precautions,” for China.
The CDC said chikungunya fever is an acute infectious disease transmitted to humans when they are bitten by an infected mosquito, primarily the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito, and has been identified in more than 110 countries.
Its symptoms are similar to dengue fever, such as high fever, headache, joint pain (lower back, ankles, knees, wrists or phalanges), joint swelling, rash, muscle pain, nausea and fatigue, the centers said, adding that in some patients, the severe joint pain could last weeks, months or even years.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya virus infections, only medications to alleviate the symptoms, it said, adding that it rarely causes severe illness or death, and that most people fully recover.
However, newborns, people who are 65 years old or older, and those with medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease are at risk of more severe illness from infection, the US’ centers said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) yesterday said that Taiwan is close to China and has the mosquitos that transmit the virus, adding that the recent typhoon and heavy rainfall also increase the risk of spreading mosquito-borne diseases.
The CDC is paying close attention to the outbreak in China, while considering if Taiwan should raise the travel notice level, she said, adding that they plan to announce their decision during their weekly news conference today.
As of yesterday, Taiwan has reported 16 cases of chikungunya this year, all of which were brought in from other countries, including 13 from Indonesia, two from the Philippines and one from Sri Lanka, CDC data showed.
According to the WHO’s fact sheet, the name “chikungunya” is derived from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “that which bends up” — describing the contorted posture of people who are infected and have severe joint pain.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS