Foshan City Reports Significant Progress in Controlling Chikungunya Fever Outbreak

Foshan, located in Guangdong province, has made significant strides in combating the chikungunya fever outbreak, with an impressive recovery rate of more than 90 percent among patients. The oldest patient discharged was 95 years old, while the youngest was just 40 days old, as reported by Yan Haiming, a senior doctor at the First People's Hospital of Foshan. Despite most patients exhibiting mild symptoms, local health officials and medical professionals are dedicated to preventing the illness from spreading further while ensuring the best care for those affected.

Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads through infected mosquitoes, predominantly affecting areas in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and occasionally Europe, as noted by the World Health Organization. Following the outbreak in early July, the health authority in Foshan quickly assembled experts to create a diagnosis and treatment plan, which has played a crucial role in standardizing the care patients receive in designated hospitals. This proactive approach also included streamlining testing processes to reduce wait times for potential infected individuals and providing timely treatment to halt the disease's transmission.

Symptoms such as muscle pain, fatigue, and nausea are frequently observed in seniors, although most patients generally recover within a week, with no serious long-term effects reported, according to Yan. As of the latest figures issued by the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, Foshan accounted for a substantial portion of the 1,387 new chikungunya cases reported across the province last week. Nonetheless, city officials have expressed optimism, highlighting a drop in daily cases from a peak of 647 on July 19 to just 148 on a recent Friday.

Vice-mayor Wen Xi emphasized the need for ongoing efforts to eliminate mosquito populations to fully prevent the virus's resurgence and maintain the progress achieved in disease control. In the Shunde district, the most severely impacted area of Foshan, a recovery rate of 92.43% has been achieved, reflecting the city's broader success against the outbreak, which has seen over 7,000 confirmed cases. Shunde resident Huang Shaohui remarked on the return to normalcy as fears of the outbreak waned.

Kang Min, director at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, indicated that concerted efforts to reduce mosquito populations have resulted in a marked decrease in transmission risk. The decline in confirmed cases in Shunde, recognized over a ten-day period, underscores the effectiveness of these measures. Additionally, sporadic cases of chikungunya have emerged in other areas, including Beijing and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, provoking preemptive actions such as enhanced mosquito control and health monitoring for travelers returning from affected regions.