Zhang Wenhong explains why the Chikungunya virus is spreading rapidly in some southern regions of our country.

In response to the sudden increase and overflow of cases of chikungunya fever in some southern regions of China recently, Professor Zhang Wenhong, the director of the National Infectious Disease Medical Center and the director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, spoke out for the first time. In an interview with reporters, he explained why the virus is spreading rapidly in certain southern regions of China. Zhang Wenhong stated that, based on international experience, the R0 value of the chikungunya virus is generally set at around 2 for calculating the speed of virus transmission, but the R0 value may vary due to different environments and different levels of basic immunity to the disease in different populations. For example, some small-scale sample testing in certain areas has shown that the R0 value of the chikungunya virus is around 7, which is 2-3 times higher than the dengue fever virus. "China has not had a case of an imported chikungunya fever causing a major outbreak in the past, and lacks basic immunity to the disease, so the virus transmission will be faster than in other endemic regions," explained Zhang Wenhong to reporters.