Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) have represented a significant category of infectious diseases in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with trends persisting over the past twenty years.
Researchers recently analyzed the epidemiological characteristics (2025, 7(29): 961-966) of 14 types of Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) from 2005 to 2024. These diseases were categorized as mosquito-borne, tick-borne, rodent-borne, and other VBDs.
These researchers wrote, ‘The burden of VBDs in China remains substantial, with an increasing trend observed over the past 5 years. The rising incidence and geographic expansion of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, scrub typhus, and dengue fever are examples of this health risk.
From 2005 to 2024, a total of 1,129,736 VBD cases were reported in China.
Over 20 years, mosquito-borne and rodent-borne diseases indicated significant declining trends, while tick-borne and other VBDs demonstrated substantial increasing trends.
Scrub typhus (28.17%), malaria (20.8%), hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS, 18.4%), dengue (12.61%), and schistosomiasis (8.42%) collectively accounted for 88.4% of all cases.
Mosquito-borne diseases, primarily malaria (56.39%) and dengue (34.17%), are predominantly distributed in southern China.
And recently, an outbreak of locally acquired chikungunya cases has been reported by the U.S. CDC in China’s Guangdong Province. As of early September 2025, over 10,000 chikungunya cases have been reported in China’s southeast area.
As of September 9, 2025, both the CDC and the UK government offer disease prevention options, including chikungunya vaccinations, that people should consider before visiting China in 2025.
In 2024, China welcomed over 100 million visitors from around the world.
In summary, these researchers stated that a substantial gap remains between China’s current VBD control efforts and the goals proposed by the World Health Organization. Therefore, intensified efforts are necessary to prevent the continued increase in VBD beyond 2025.
Furthermore, in the context of global warming and urbanization, preventing mosquito-borne disease outbreaks and controlling their northward spread should be prioritized.
This analysis was supported by the consultancy project (2023-JB-12) from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (GRANT32090023).
The unedited report is available at this link.