The chikungunya virus has rapidly spread to about 8,000 patients in just four weeks, mainly across China’s Guangdong province to the south, with the city of Foshan being hit the hardest, according to The New York Times.

Thousands in southern China have been infected with a mosquito-borne illness in the past few weeks, in what's considered one of the most notable outbreaks of the disease since it was first detected in the country nearly two decades ago.