China has declared war on the chikungunya virus. How much of a threat is it?

Health officials in Guangdong province in southern China are waging an all-out war against mosquitoes in response to an outbreak of the chikungunya virus that’s sickened thousands with fever, rashes and joint pain over the past month.

Soldiers are fogging streets and parks in the city of Foshan with insecticide. Community workers are going door-to-door to look for stagnant water, where mosquitoes can breed. People who test positive are reportedly being forced to hospitalize to isolate themselves, says Yanzhong Huang , senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It’s reminiscent of the COVID-19 tactics,” he says, where citizens were extremely restricted in their activities to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Some of the current measures are likely overkill, says