In the city of Foshan, Guangdong Province, an outbreak of chikungunya fever has been reported. Official sources only publicly confirmed the first case on July 15, stating that the case was diagnosed on July 8. However, according to Hong Kong media interviews conducted on site, local villagers had already been affected since early June, but it did not “attract the attention of the epidemic prevention department.”
The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention released monitoring information for the chikungunya fever in the province for the week of July 27 to August 2. There were 2892 newly reported local cases of chikungunya fever in the province, with no reports of severe cases or deaths. Previous official reports had stated that as of July 29, Foshan, Guangdong had accumulated over 6000 cases of chikungunya fever. However, there is currently no official update on the latest cumulative case numbers.
According to a report by Hong Kong’s “Ming Pao,” during interviews conducted in Foshan Shunde, the “epicenter” of the outbreak, a pharmacy owner claimed that villagers had been affected as early as June, but it had not caught the attention of the epidemic prevention department.
It was reported that Lecang Town in Shunde District was a “hard-hit area” in the chikungunya fever outbreak, with the “patient zero” (the first confirmed “imported case” on July 8) located in Tengchong Village in Lecang Town.
However, the owner of a local pharmacy stated that since early June, residents in the village had been showing symptoms of chikungunya fever, such as fever, rashes, and joint pain. The pharmacy owner himself had also been “hit” after being bitten by mosquitoes, but reportedly, the situation did not attract the attention of government departments at that time. However, the report did not mention whether the government departments were aware of the situation.
According to a notification from the Shunde District Health Bureau of Foshan City on July 15, the official discovery of the “chikungunya fever” outbreak was made on July 8, but the first local confirmed case was only reported on the afternoon of July 15. The delayed notification raised uncertainties about the actual situation.
The Chinese government has a history of concealing epidemics, including during the SARS period in 2003 and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan at the end of 2019. The delayed notification by officials regarding the chikungunya fever had already sparked questioning.
Chikungunya fever is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes, and patients are required to go to hospitals for blood tests. At present, home isolation is not allowed.
A doctor at the Dongping Community Health Service Station in Lecang Town, Shunde, explained that if patients show symptoms such as fever and rash, they must undergo blood tests. The patient is then arranged by the community neighborhood committee to be isolated and observed in a designated hospital. Isolation can only be lifted if the blood test results are negative. In case of a positive result, the patient needs to continue staying in isolation for treatment, and close contacts such as family members need to undergo blood tests as well.
Hong Kong media reports that stringent chikungunya fever prevention measures have made many people in Foshan, Shunde recall the previous COVID-19 pandemic and complain that the authorities have caused “panic among the people.”
The owner of a pharmacy in Tengchong Village expressed to Hong Kong media his concerns about the impact of mandatory isolation on people’s livelihoods. He mentioned that the economy is already struggling, chikungunya fever is not fatal, and its symptoms are similar to common fevers and colds. He believed that the government should focus on mosquito control and preventing the spread of the epidemic.
Dr. Lin Xiaoxu, a virology expert from the United States, previously told the Epoch Times that chikungunya fever does not actually require isolation because it is not transmitted from person to person but rather through mosquitoes as vectors. As long as mosquito control and environmental hygiene measures are properly implemented, the epidemic can be effectively controlled.