LIMA, Peru
By Alex Pashley
Health officials have expressed growing concern over the spread of a tropical disease in Latin America and the Caribbean after suspected cases have escalated in recent weeks.
A severe outbreak of the chikungunya virus in the Dominican Republic has affected 4,000 people and accelerated cases in neighboring countries has prompted regional health authorities to take preventative measures.
Similar to dengue fever, another mosquito-borne disease, the virus' symptoms include headaches, fatigue and vomiting.
This creates a problem, Ciro Maguiña, a tropical disease specialist at the Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University in Lima, told The Anadolu Agency.
“In a country with so many tropical diseases (Peru), and that is 60 percent jungle, if patients may appear to have dengue when they really have chikingunya, it could lead to bad medical responses,” he said.
“It’s less about the resulting few deaths, but the confusion it generates. It’s important to declare an emergency so we don’t let our guard down.”
As many as 730,000 people may have contracted the virus, with 113 confirmed deaths since last December, according figures released by the Pan American Health Organization.
Peru’s Health Ministry declared a 90-day national emergency last week after three cases were confirmed. Venezuelan authorities said they would step up efforts to contain the virus next week.
Other symptoms include extreme fever and severe joint pains, making walking difficult. The virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito isn’t contagious and death is uncommon.
“The arrival of chikungunya virus, first in the tropical Americas and now in the United States, underscores the risks posed by this and other exotic pathogens,” said Roger Nasci, chief of the Centers for Disease Control’s Arboviral Diseases Branch.
Colombian officials reported the country’s first death from the virus Tuesday, from 1,308 reported cases, while counterparts in neighboring Venezuela said 13 deaths of unknown causes were “strictly associated with the recent outbreak of chikungunya virus on the rise nationwide.”
The average recovery time is about a week, though some cases have taken months. There remains no form of treatment or vaccine, the CDC said, and recommends the best way to prevent the virus is to “avoid mosquito bites, use air conditioning or screens when indoors, use insect repellents, and wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors.”
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