Cases of viral chikungunya in southern China rise to over 7,000
Hong Kong also records its first case of mosquito-borne disease in 6 years
ISTANBUL
Cases of the mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya in southern China have risen to over 7,000, said local press reports.
The Guangdong province recorded the cases as of Monday, with most in the city of Foshan, according to state-run China Daily.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday issued a level 2 travel health alert over the infections.
The spread of the virus resulted on Saturday in the first imported case of chikungunya in Hong Kong in the last six years, according to a statement from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The patient is believed to have caught the disease while travelling to Foshan.
Chikungunya virus is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. The most common symptoms are fever and joint pain, according to the CDC.
The virus is rarely fatal, but newborns, older people, and people with compromised immune systems face a greater risk.
