Health authorities in China confirmed on Sunday a positive case of dengue fever had been recorded in the city of Guandge – located 750 miles south of the capital Beijing. The viral infection is spread by mosquitoes and can be fatal as there is no vaccine.
Symptoms can include a high temperature, muscle pain and vomiting – which usually passes within a week.
According to a post by officials in Guangde, which has since been deleted, the patient was initially diagnosed with the virus on June 5.
They had also previously travelled across Asia including to India and Pakistan.
Cases of dengue fever is on the rise across south Asia with more than 1,000 weekly infections reported in the past month in Singapore.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA) more than 15,000 cases have been recorded in Singapore alone this year, with at least 16 known deaths.
It comes as health authorities confirmed cases of the bubonic plague in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia over the weekend.
Officials confirmed positive cases in the province of Bayan-Ulgii aimag after a 15-year-old boy caught the infection.
The bubonic plague, became known as the “Black Death” in the Middle Ages after killing more than 100 million people.
The disease is carried by rodents and the new outbreak is linked to people eating a marmot – a type of squirrel.
Flu-like symptoms include a fever, chills, headache and feeling weak.
It is feared more than 30 others may have also contracted the highly infectious disease and they have been sent for testing.
Last November four reported cases were detected in the region – including two of pneumonic plague, a deadlier variant.
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“While our neighbours are paying close attention, our citizens are being warned not to hunt and eat marmots illegally and to follow their advice.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is confident the outbreak in China is being “well managed” and at this stage it is not considered to represent a high risk.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said: “We are monitoring the outbreaks in China, we are watching that closely and in partnership with the Chinese authorities and Mongolian authorities.
“At the moment we are not considering it high-risk but we are watching it, monitoring it carefully.”