Mosquito-borne illness spreads in Caribbean

U.S. and Caribbean health officials report that chikungunya, a viral disease spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, now has reached 17 Caribbean countries with 4,406 confirmed cases and more than 103,000 suspected cases.

The mosquito-borne disease first appeared in French St. Martin in December.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Florida has reported 10 cases coming from travelers returning from Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Martinique and St. Maarten/Martin.

To date, no case has been reported of people contracting the disease in Florida, “but there is a high likelihood, as we continue to monitor and investigate, that we will find some,” according to Roger Nasci, a CDC expert on vector-borne diseases.

The CDC has placed chikungunya on its Level 1 Watch List in the Caribbean, urging travelers to follow precautions. The risk to travelers “is slightly above the baseline risk,” the CDC said.

The Level 2 Watch List advises travelers to follow enhanced precautions; a Level 3 Warning is to avoid all nonessential travel due to a high risk.

Among the symptoms that appear between four and seven days after someone has been bitten by an infected mosquito are fever, joint pain, rashes, headache, nausea and fatigue. Symptoms can last for three days or longer.

Also, mosquitoes biting an infected person during this time can become infected.

Caribbean nations have increased spraying for mosquitoes and are urging people to remove standing water where the insects breed, use mosquito nets at night, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants and apply liberal doses of mosquito repellents.

There is no vaccine or medicine to prevent chikungunya.

With the start of the rainy season as well as the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, health officials fear an acceleration of outbreaks.

The CDC is helping medical staffs in the Caribbean develop tests to diagnose chikungunya.

“This won’t help those who already have the virus, but it will help epidemiologists control the spread and survey the pattern of the disease,” according to Scott Weaver, director of the University of Texas Medical Branch Institute for Human Infections and Immunity.

Chikungunya is an African word that loosely translates as “contorted with pain,” which refers to the posture of infected people stooped over from joint pain.

The Pan American Health Organization likened the illness to a terrible flu combined with an abrupt case of arthritis.