China screens travelers with MPOX symptoms as cases spread outside Africa

Symptoms include “fever, headache, back pain, myalgia, swollen lymph nodes, skin and mucous membrane rashes,” the statement said.

The screening measures will last six months and the list of affected countries will be updated according to the information provided by the World Health Organization.

International health authorities confirmed an infection with a new strain of the Mpox virus in Sweden on Thursday and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa. The case in Sweden came a day after the WHO declared the disease a global health emergency.

So far this year, 17,541 cases of MPOX and 517 deaths have been reported in 13 African countries.

This is the fourth time that China Customs has issued an MPOX screening policy. The first declaration came into effect in 2022, while two more declarations were made last year.

The monitoring directive for 2023 expired in February, so the latest declaration is the first for 2024.

Mainland China reported its first imported Mpox case in September 2022 and its first domestic case in June last year.

04:17

WHO declares Mpox a global health emergency as new form of the virus emerges

WHO declares Mpox a global health emergency as new form of the virus emerges

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which monitored Mpox infections for four months last year, from August to November, 1,013 new cases were recorded during the monitoring period, but there were no deaths.

According to China's regulations on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, Mpox is listed as a Category B infectious disease along with Covid-19, AIDS and viral hepatitis. The only two Category A infectious diseases are plague and cholera.

Beijing downgraded Covid-19 from category A to B in January 2023 after years of trying to contain the virus through a strict zero-Covid policy.

Except for mainland China, a total of 67 cases of MPOX have been reported in Hong Kong since 2022, while Taiwan has recorded 395 cases since 2023, according to the latest data.

Mpox is a viral disease that is typically transmitted through contact with wild animals and occurs primarily in Central and West Africa.

The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, but typically circulates in small rodents and can be transmitted to humans through vectors such as bushmeat, animal bites or scratches, bodily fluids, contaminated objects, or close contact with infected individuals.