After seeing 1,000 new dengue cases each day last week, health authorities in South China's Guangzhou Province have decided to mark the situation as "severe."
To date, local officials have identified over 21,500 cases, which is said to be the worst outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in China in the past 20 years.
Six deaths have been recorded so far amid the continually rising number of cases of dengue, which happens to be plaguing other Asian countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and India as well. The disease thrives in mega cities in tropical and subtropical regions.
Guangzhou Mayor Chen Jianhua has expressed his concerns about the issue, urging citizens and officials at a Sunday seminar to intensify efforts to eradicate mosquitos. In addition, Major Jianhua has ordered early detection, treatment, and quarantining of the disease in order to prevent its further spread.
According to Chinese authorities, the hot and wet weather in the country conduced to the five-fold replication of the dengue-carrying insects. Infections coinciding with the six-day National Day also made the situation challenging to contain.
On Monday, Oct. 6, the last day of the holidays, people continued to make efforts against the epidemic by disinfecting places where mosquitos might thrive. Residents were also offered repellents.
Guangzhou conducted a clean-up drive on Tuesday in the prefectures that had an outbreak, focusing on places unoccupied during the holidays such as schools and construction sites.
Dengue, which is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito species, causes severe muscle and joint pain, among other symptoms. It is a "neglected disease," according to the World Health Organization, that infects up to 100 million people worldwide every year.