Overview

• More than 8,000 chikungunya cases have been confirmed in Guangdong province with no deaths reported as of early August.
• Officials have enforced quarantines under mosquito nets, fined residents up to $1,400 for stagnant water and ordered pharmacies to report fever medication sales.
• A video from Zhanjiang showed uniformed officers taking children’s blood samples without parental consent, prompting public outcry over intrusive surveillance.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained a Level 2 travel advisory for Guangdong but judges the risk of sustained U.S. transmission as very low.
• Experts attribute the outbreak to monsoon-driven Aedes mosquito proliferation and emphasize vector control alongside available traveler vaccines Ixchiq and Vimkunya.