No local transmission of Zika found in China

China has no record of domestically transmitted Zika virus, although 20 cases have been detected so far this year among travellers, a health official said in Beijing on Tuesday. 

“We detected the first case in February, and the latest one was last month. They were all Chinese people who had travelled to affected areas in South America and the Pacific islands,” Liu Qiyong, director, Department of Vector Biology and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, told a group of journalists from South Asia.
“But no locally transmitted case of the virus has been detected, so far,” added Liu, while showing the visitors around labs of the institute that has been designated as a WHO collaborating centre for vector surveillance and management. The institute is under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), located in a suburb of the Chinese capital. Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito, the same species that spreads dengue fever. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, where babies of infected mothers are born with unusually small heads. 
The white-speckled Aedes mosquito is present in southern parts of China that enjoys subtropical weather, Liu said. Dengue is a recurring disease in those parts and an outbreak in 2014 affected about 48,000 people, he said.
Since the appearance of Zika worldwide in 2015, surveillance and eradication of mosquitoes have been stepped up in China, Liu said.
The emerging disease has afflicted populations in South America and spread around the globe, including South-East Asia and the Pacific over the past couple of years. 
Bangladesh detected its first Zika case in March when trace of the virus was found in an old blood sample taken from a man who was suspected of having dengue in 2014, according to health ministry sources.  
There is no vaccine or drugs for the virus, and only recourse is to treat symptoms of the disease that may include fever, rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Infection can be easily prevented by avoiding mosquito bites. 
China CDC, a global public health centre, has collaboration with many international agencies and public health institutes in other countries, including Bangladesh’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Qi Xiaopeng, deputy director of National Centre for Public Health Surveillance and Information Service, said while presenting China’s disease reporting system.

No local transmission of Zika found in China

China has no record of domestically transmitted Zika virus, although 20 cases have been detected so far this year among travellers, a health official said in Beijing on Tuesday. We detected the first case in February, and the latest one was last month. They were all Chinese people who had travelled to affected areas in South America and the Pacific islands, Liu Qiyong, director, Department of Vector Biology and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, told a group of journalists from South Asia. But no locally transmitted case of the virus has been detected, so far, added Liu, while showing the visitors around labs of the institute that has been designated as a WHO collaborating centre for vector surveillance and management. The institute is under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), located in a suburb of the Chinese capital. Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito, the same species that spreads dengue fever. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, where babies of infected mothers are born with unusually small heads. The white-speckled Aedes mosquito is present in southern parts of China that enjoys subtropical weather, Liu said. Dengue is a recurring disease in those parts and an outbreak in 2014 affected about 48,000 people, he said. Since the appearance of Zika worldwide in 2015, surveillance and eradication of mosquitoes have been stepped up in China, Liu said. The emerging disease has afflicted populations in South America and spread around the globe, including South-East Asia and the Pacific over the past couple of years. Bangladesh detected its first Zika case in March when trace of the virus was found in an old blood sample taken from a man who was suspected of having dengue in 2014, according to health ministry sources. There is no vaccine or drugs for the virus, and only recourse is to treat symptoms of the disease that may include fever, rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Infection can be easily prevented by avoiding mosquito bites. China CDC, a global public health centre, has collaboration with many international agencies and public health institutes in other countries, including Bangladeshs Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Qi Xiaopeng, deputy director of National Centre for Public Health Surveillance and Information Service, said while presenting Chinas disease reporting system.