What’s new: The capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province has since October recorded a number of cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), with local authorities pointing out the figure is “significantly” higher than earlier this year and the same period last year.
The number of severe cases and deaths has also increased compared with previous years, according to a Wednesday report (link in Chinese) published by the Xi’an disease control center, which didn’t specify how many cases had been detected.
The report said the incidence rate remains high and recommended a range of countermeasures including pest prevention and extermination.
Xi’an authorities have urged residents to get vaccinated, local media reported. Districts, counties and towns deemed at high risk have been issued batches of the vaccine, the report said.
Several local hospitals have seen patients with hemorrhagic fever admitted since the beginning of the winter, a news site affiliated with the state-run China News Service reported Sunday.
The background: HFRS is an infectious disease carried by rodent feces. People who breathe in aerosolized particles can become infected and develop symptoms include fever, chills, rashes and acute shock, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2014, the fatality rate from hemorrhagic fever in China was 0.69%, according to a paper published that year in the medical journal Disease Surveillance.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
