The move comes after the WHO declared a global health emergency over the virus
China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Friday that it has begun monitoring people and goods entering the country for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. These new measures will be in effect for six months, according to the GAC.
The announcement follows the World Health Organization’s (WHO) designation of the recent surge in infections in Africa as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) two days prior. The WHO has also called for a vaccination campaign.
People arriving in China from “countries and regions where cases of the disease have been confirmed should declare their conditions to customs upon entry if they have symptoms” including fever, headache, rashes and others, the GAC stated. They emphasized that “customs officers will implement medical measures and conduct sampling and testing in accordance with the prescribed procedure.”
The statement also added that vehicles, containers, and goods from areas where mpox cases have been detected should be sanitized.
Mpox can spread through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms, a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over, and swollen lymph nodes. According to the WHO, the disease is typically mild and fatal only in rare instances.
Last year, China’s National Health Commission classified mpox as a Category B infectious disease alongside COVID-19, AIDS, and SARS. This move empowered national authorities to implement emergency measures, such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas in the event of an outbreak.
Mpox was first identified as a distinct illness in 1958 among laboratory monkeys in Denmark. The first documented cases in humans were recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The virus has long been endemic in central Africa, primarily in the DRC. When it first began spreading in late 2022, the WHO declared an emergency and renamed the disease mpox to avoid “racist and stigmatizing language.”
On Wednesday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “a coordinated international response” to stop the spread of the disease and save lives globally. The statement followed a viral outbreak in the DRC that spread to neighboring countries earlier this month.