Chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean

Caribbean: Chikungunya outbreak has already claimed 21 lives

09/07/2014

In the Caribbean, 21 people have already died from the painful Chikungunya fever. More than 4,700 people are said to be infected in the region. In Honduras, a health alert has now been triggered because of the dangerous fever.

Over 4,700 infected in the Caribbean region
According to the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS), 21 people have died of chikungunya in the Caribbean. Of these, twelve cases were registered in the French Overseas Territory Martinique and three each in the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The region is said to have infected more than 4,700 people altogether. In Honduras, a health alert has now been triggered because of the rampant febrile fever in the Caribbean, according to a dpa report. As Health Minister Yolani Batres announced on Tuesday, three suspected cases have been registered in the Central American country. Currently, samples are being studied in the US.

Chikungunya fever is transmitted by two mosquito species
The Chikungunya fever is transmitted by two mosquito species, the Egyptian tiger mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito. Often the disease is described as a mixture of influenza and osteoarthritis. Infected people suffer from severe headaches and body aches. In addition, symptoms such as swelling of the lymph nodes, itchy rash, mucosal bleeding or gastrointestinal complaints may occur. Although most patients feel better after a few days or weeks, some suffer from chronic joint pain and inflammation. But deaths are rare.

Neither medication nor vaccine against the disease
So far, there are neither effective drugs nor a vaccine against Chikungunya. The infectious disease has been prevalent in the past, especially in Africa and in South and Southeast Asia. In Costa Rica, the first Chikungunya case occurred last week. The health alert in Honduras now allows measures such as the destruction of mosquito nests or special training of medical personnel.

Eruption in Italy
Even in Europe, there has already been a regionally limited outbreak of Chikunguny fever. In the summer of 2007, around 200 people fell ill in the Italian province of Ravenna. At that time, the tropical virus had probably been brought in by a traveler and found a suitable host in the Asian tiger mosquito, which is now native to southern Europe. The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned only in April that tropical mosquitoes would move further and further into temperate latitudes and thus open the door to tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya. (Ad)