Chikungunya (CHIKV) is a viral disease that causes high fever and joint pain. Dubbed as the cousin of dengue, CHIKV is also transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, the same breed that brings dengue.....means “To be contorted” due to the joint pains that the victim feels when he got the disease.
The first documented case of Chikungunya in the Philippines was during the 1960s. The disease has been identified in countries in Asia, Africa...... and the Americas.
The common symptoms of Chikungunya are high fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, rash and nausea – which are similar to dengue. But unlike dengue, Chikungunya does not often result in death but the joint pain may last for weeks, months, and even years......there is no vaccine or treatment available to cure the disease, only treatments to relieve the symptoms.
When we went on our Caribbean cruise this spring, we made sure to load up on repellent spray and wrist bands. Nobody else seemed to be aware of it at all.