Risk assessment of public health emergencies concerned in China, April 2026

Objective  To assess the risk of public health emergencies that may occur or be imported from abroad in China (except Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan region, the same below) in April 2026.

Methods  Based on the reports of domestic and foreign public health emergencies and surveillance results of key infectious diseases or notifications from relative agencies and departments, the expert consultation conference was hold and experts from provincial (autonomous region and municipal) centers for disease control and prevention attended this conference through video terminal.

Results  A gradual declining trend is expected in the epidemic of norovirus gastroenteritis in April 2026. The incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) will enter an upward phase, and the number of reported cases nationwide will increase significantly compared with March. Cases will be predominantly sporadic, with the potential for clustered outbreaks via human-to-human transmission. Following the Qingming Festival holiday, the risk of cross-border transmission of dengue fever and chikungunya fever will further increase. Class I regions are at risk of local transmission, and some regions face the risk of clustered outbreaks. The overall risk of human infection with novel influenza subtypes in China remains unchanged. Sporadic cases may occur among exposed populations, while the general population faces a low risk of infection. The epidemic of mpox IIb sublineage in China remains at a low level among men who have sex with men, while mpox clade I sublineage continues to pose risk of imported and secondary transmission. The risk of imported Zika virus disease persists. In addition, based on publicly available global information, attention should also be paid to the risk of imported outbreaks of overseas epidemic diseases such as meningococcal meningitis and measles.

Conclusion  Attention should be paid to norovirus enteritis, SFTS, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, human infection with novel influenza subtypes, mpox, Zika virus disease.