BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HEALTH Authorities throughout the region are on high alert following the discovery of the first case of the Chikungunya virus in neighbouring St. Martin.
Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) recently announced that for the first time, locally-acquired cases of Chikungunya have been detected.
CARPHA said it had recently “received notification of 10 confirmed cases of the locally acquired Chikungunya virus infection on the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin”.
It also noted that “Chikungunya is a viral disease, carried mainly by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito and causes a dengue-like sickness”.
Symptoms would include a sudden high fever, severe pain in the wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and rash. Joint pain and stiffness are more common with Chikungunya than with Dengue.
It is also noted that those “symptoms appears between four to seven days after the bite of an infected mosquito. The majority of clinical signs and symptoms last three to 10 days, but joint pain may persist longer. Severe cases requiring hospitalisation are rare”.
Because of the current weather pattern in the Federation with frequent rains, residents are advised to wear long clothing in the evening or during the rainy periods to avoid catching Dengue or Chikungunya viruses.
“There is no vaccine or treatment for Chikungunya, which has infected millions of people in Africa and Asia since the disease was first recorded in 1952,” CARPHA said.
Dr C. James Hospedales, the Executive Director of CARPHA, said: “In addition to Chikungunya on the French-side, both sides of the island are also currently experiencing a dengue epidemic. Given that the type of mosquito that transmits Chikungunya is widely distributed in the Caribbean region and is also known to transmit Dengue, the Region is at risk for spread of the virus.”
Dr. Hospedales explained that the measures used for controlling the spread of Chikungunya are the same as those applied for the control of Dengue, as both diseases are transmitted by the same mosquito, Aedes aegypti.
He said the best way to protect oneself from this disease is to avoid mosquito bites and to prevent mosquitoes breeding in and around your home environment.
CARPHA has also been working with Caribbean health authorities to ensure that they are able to identify cases early and mount a rapid but coordinated public health response that includes identification and clinical management of cases, vector control measures, surveillance and effective public communication measures.
