 |
|
|
US
health officials are on high alert as a mosquito-borne virus that yet has no
cure has struck six of the US states. The virus called chikungunya causes
severe joint pain which can last for years, RT reports.
The
latest case of the virus has been confirmed by Tennessee officials as the
resident of Madison County, has been tested positive for the virus. The
officials, however, added that there was no transmission to other residents in
the state.
"It
will be more difficult for the virus to establish itself here,"
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee told Tech Times.
Rhode
Island authorities also confirmed two cases of the mosquito-borne virus. They
involve travelers who returned from the Dominican Republic on May 17 and May
29, said state officials, adding that authorities are currently investigating
several other suspicious cases of the virus.
Florida
has been the worst hit by the virus, with at least 25 cases reported in the
state, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The
Florida Department of Health released a set of guidelines in order to avoid
becoming infected and spreading the virus.
The
cases of the virus, transmitted to humans through mosquitoes, have also been
confirmed in North Carolina, Nebraska and Indiana.
 |
|
|
On
Wednesday, the virus affected two residents from the US Virgin Islands,
according to local authorities.
“The
first case has been confirmed as locally acquired; the second case is an
imported case with the patient recent travel history outside of the Territory,”
said the Department of Health in the US Virgin Islands in a press release.
Florida
officials advised residents “to wear long sleeves
and long pants when possible," and “use
mosquito-proof screens on windows and doors.”
Symptoms
of the malaria-like illness include fever, headache, chills, sensitivity to
light, and rash, vomiting and severe joint pain, according to World Health
Organization (WHO). Occasional cases of eye, neurological and heart
complications have been reported, as well as gastrointestinal complaints, it
adds. They usually begin three to seven days after infection occurs. The
consequences include a long period of joint pains which may persist for years
in some cases. Though the virus rarely leads to death, the problem is that
there is currently no vaccine available. The treatment only aims at improving
the symptoms.
 |
A resident of San Cristobal, southeast of Santo
Domingo with symptoms of chikungunya fever awaits to be treated in the
emergency sector of the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital. (AFP Photo / Erika
Santelices)
|
According
to WHO, Chikungunya was first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania
in 1952, eastern Africa, and since then has been detected in nearly 40
countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and also in the Americas.
The Pan American Health
Organization says that about 165,000 cases have been either suspected or
confirmed in the Caribbean since it was first documented in 2013-2014 with 14
death cases. Most of the cases have been detected in Dominican Republic,
Guadalupe, Martinique and Haiti.
No comments:
Post a Comment