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The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the first case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in the US has been confirmed in a person in Florida. The CDC said the patient is a man who apparently had not travelled abroad recently, and the federal agency is investigating how he became infected and is closely monitoring the possible appearance of other cases in the area.
'The arrival of chikungunya virus, first in the tropical Americas and now in the US underscores the risks posed by this and other exotic pathogens,' said Roger Nasci, the head of CDC's Arboviral Diseases Branch, Thursday. The virus, which is not well-known in the US, has been detected over the past seven months in residents of several Caribbean islands. There have been cases in several US states and territories, but until Thursday all those cases involved people who had travelled abroad to one of the affected zones. (Read: Have severe joint pain and fever? Could be chikungunya!)
In Puerto Rico, authorities Thursday declared a chikungunya epidemic on the island, given the rapid spread of the virus which, so far, has been confirmed in 206 people. The virus, which produces symptoms similar to those of dengue, is transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquito. According to CDC figures, 243 cases have been registered in 31 US states and territories among people who had travelled abroad so far this year, compared with an average of 28 cases per year registered since 2006. (Read: 10 natural ways to keep your home mosquito-free)
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There is no vaccine and no treatment for the chikungunya virus. The symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache and aching joints, nausea and skin rash, all of which generally appear between three and seven days after a victim is bitten by a carrier mosquito and can last for up to three months. Despite the discomfort, however, the disease is rarely fatal. (Read: 5 ways to save your baby from mosquito bites)
What is chikungunya?
Chikungunya is caused due to a viral infection (CHIKV) and is transmitted when an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito carries the virus from an infected human to a healthy person. The mosquitoes mostly attack during the day and are commonly seen breeding around clean water bodies. Chikungunya means 'to distort', directly relating to the stooped appearance of the patient due to extreme pain in and around the joints during the disease. The disease is characterised by an abrupt onset of fever frequently accompanied by severe muscle and joint pains. Once bitten, the patient will experience symptoms such as arthritis like pain around the joints, muscle aches, fever, malaise, headache, fatigue, nausea and in some cases vomiting within approximately two to 22 days.
Chikungunya is a self-resolving disease. It gradually decreases in intensity in about a week after infection. But some people may experience arthritic pain and fatigue for a few weeks to a year after it has resolved. In very old and ailing patients and in individuals with a weak immune system, the disease can result in death.
Blood tests can help diagnosis. Doctors can now quickly and accurately identify patients at risk of severe form of chikungunya with the help of a direct biomarker. There is currently no cure for the condition. Medications are given for symptomatic relief from pain, swelling and fever.
With inputs from IANS
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