chikungunya fever

Foshan city in South China's Guangdong Province has decided to terminate its Level III public health emergency response against Chikungunya fever and shift its epidemic control strategy from emergency response to normalized prevention and control, as the city has made phased progress in epidemic control with new daily cases reported in the city at under 50 for nine consecutive days as of Monday, and the epidemic entered a low-level sporadic state, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.

During a press conference held on Tuesday, local authorities announced that the prevention and control of the Chikungunya outbreak has made significant progress at present, with mosquito density in most affected villages and communities noticeably reduced and the transmission chains effectively cut off.

Meanwhile, experts reminded the public that mosquito-borne diseases usually peak between September and October, thus the epidemic control achievements still need to be further consolidated. 

Wen Xi, Vice Mayor of Foshan, introduced during the press briefing that the city will continue to carry out epidemic prevention and control in a scientific, precise, and efficient manner. 

According to Wen, Foshan will conduct routine monitoring of mosquito density, implement tiered and categorized epidemic control measures, and swiftly contain sporadic outbreaks. 

Meanwhile, the city will carry out regular patriotic health campaigns by organizing citywide special actions twice a week. Efforts will be made to focus on key areas such as vacant houses, idle land, backstreets and alleys, urban villages, parks, and markets, in order to eliminate sanitation blind spots. 

By eliminating the breeding and survival conditions of mosquitoes at the root, it is hoped that the mosquito density will be directly reduced, the transmission chains will be broken, and the first physical defense line for epidemic prevention and control will be established, according to a notice on Foshan Fabu, the city government's news WeChat account on Tuesday.

Additionally, local authorities also called on the public to continue practicing health protection measures and take the initiative in improving environmental sanitation, working together to build a strong defense against the epidemic. 

Global Times