Chikungunya virus on the rise

In South America and the Caribbean, Chikungunya fever is spreading

09/29/2014

The Chikungunya virus causes great concern in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more than nine months, the number of people affected has increased dramatically in some countries. According to the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS), 10,000 cases of illness and more than 100 deaths have been reported across the United States since December 2013, when the fever first occurred. In El Salvador, however, the state authorities are now starting from far more cases.

So far there is no effective drug against the Chikungunya fever
The chikungunya virus is transmitted by the mosquito species Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, similar to the dengue fever. Typical symptoms of infection include fast-rising, high fever and severe muscle and joint pain with high sensitivity to touch. Since those affected can hardly keep up, the fever became „Chikungunya“ what is called in the language of the Makonde the „crooked walking“ means. The diagnosis of the infection takes place via a blood test. While the disease is benign and self-limiting in most cases, complications such as cerebral ocular inflammation, hepatitis, or fatal cardiac inflammation are less common. So far, there is neither an effective drug to treat this disease nor a vaccine. Chikungunya fever is prevalent in eastern and southern Africa and southeast Asia. For some years, however, cases are increasingly being recorded in the Caribbean and South America.

Unofficially, significantly more cases of Chikungunya fever
In Colombia, the first death was reported last week as a result of an infection with the virus. An eleven-month-old baby died of the fever. In total, 49 diseases were registered in the Andean state. There are currently 400 in neighboring Venezuela and 16 in Brazil. According to the OPS, more than 10,000 illnesses have been reported across the United States since December 2013.

In El Salvador, however, the health authorities are expecting considerably more cases. In the capital San Salvador alone, more than 17,000 cases are known, said Vice-Minister of Health Eduardo Espinoza told the news agency „dpa“ With. In total, more than 29,000 people are said to be suffering from Chikungunya fever. According to the OPS, there were 17 cases in Panama, 16 in Nicaragua and one in Costa Rica.

Since the virus is particularly easy to propagate and spread in tropical climates, the Caribbean is also affected by the current outbreak of Chikungunya fever. According to the OPS, 113 people have already died of the fever there. In addition, there are numerous suspected cases. In the Dominican Republic alone, an infection is suspected to be 486,000, Guadeloupe 77,240 and Martinique 61,860. (Ag)