From the Advisory Board Company: In just six months, chikungunya virus infected more than 100K Virus spread through mosquitoes common to southern United States 8:58 AM - June 9, 2014 Federal health officials last week said there have been more than 100,000 suspected or confirmed cases of the debilitating chikungunya virus throughout the Caribbean in just six months. The chikungunya virus was first identified in Tanzania in 1952, but the virus has swept through southern and eastern Africa in recent decades, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The name chikungunya derives from the Kimakonde word for to become contorted, which refers to the fever and intense muscle and joint pain that the virus inflicts on its victims for weeks and sometimes years. Although the virus is rarely fatal, individuals who contract the virus probably wish they would die because it is so painful, says Robert Novak, a global health professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. There is currently no vaccine or cure for those affected, other than attempting to alleviate symptoms. And although the virus often runs its course in about a week, pain can linger for months or years. Chikungunya first arrived in the Western hemisphere in December 2013. Since then, the virus has spread to 17 countries or territories in the Caribbean and South America. It has been linked to at least 14 deaths in the Caribbean, although those individuals likely had other health issues. As of May 30, there were 103,018 suspected and 4,406 lab-confirmed cases of the virus, according to a new CDC report. The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that spread the virus are common in the southern United States and can be found as far north as New York. Officials worry that chikungunya could become an establish disease in the United States, as the West Nile virus did in 1999. Already, at least 10 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Florida among travelers. To date, there have been no reports of individuals contracting the virus in Florida. Theres a high likelihood, as we continue to monitor and investigate, that we will find some, said CDC investigator Roger Nasci. Moreover, experts say the hurricane season could speed the spread of the virus. However, experts say that the widespread use of air conditioning and window screens in the United States make fast transmission of the virus less likely than in it has been in the Caribbean (Fox, NBC News, 6/5; San Jose Mercury News, 6/5; Bernstein, To Your Health, Washington Post, 6/5).
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:20:20 +0000
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