CDC Warns Travelers About Cases of Mosquito-Borne Virus in China
CDC Warns Travelers About Cases of Mosquito-Borne Virus in China, U.S. officials have directed people to exercise enhanced precaution when traveling to a province in China due to the outbreak of the chikungunya virus.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people traveling to China about an outbreak of the chikungunya virus there.
Officials are advising people to exercise caution by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants and only staying in places that have air conditioning or screens covering doors and windows.
The CDC recommends people traveling to any area with a chikungunya outbreak take a chikungunya vaccine.
Two vaccines are available in the United States: a live-attenuated version that is cleared for people aged 18 and up, and a virus-like particle vaccine licensed for people 12 years of age and older.
“Healthcare providers should discuss the benefits and risks of vaccination with individual travelers based on their age, underlying health conditions, destination, trip duration, and planned activites [sic],” the CDC said in its notice, which was listed as level two out of four.
Chikungunya is a disease caused by a virus also called chikungunya. Mosquito bites transmit the virus to humans. There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Outbreaks regularly occur in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
Symptoms usually appear four to eight days after a bite. Symptoms include joint pain, joint swelling, and headache.
The symptoms can be similar to those suffered by people with dengue fever and Zika, which makes it difficult for officials to accurately peg the number of people infected with the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
In China, thousands of cases have been officially reported in Guangdong Province. The Chinese communist regime has repeatedly underreported the true number of outbreaks, including those of COVID-19.
The CDC has also issued travel notices over chikungunya in other countries, including Bolivia, Kenya, and Somalia.
Some 240,000 cases and 90 related deaths have been reported across 16 countries or territories this year, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pregnant women should reconsider planned travel to areas where there are outbreaks in light of how expectant mothers who become infected can pass the virus to their baby, making the baby vulnerable to severe illness, the CDC said.
Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez, a World Health Organization medical officer, told reporters in a July briefing that the group is supporting countries by deploying laboratory diagnostics, training clinical workers, and improving mosquito control.
“There is no particular treatment for chikungunya, so people need to avoid mosquito bites,” she said.
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