Free Republic

The New York State Department of Health has confirmed a case of locally acquired chikungunya on Long Island, marking the first case of the virus reported to be locally acquired in New York and the first locally acquired case to be reported in the United States since 2019. Laboratory testing at the department’s Wadsworth Center confirmed the case in Nassau County on Long Island, according to health officials. “An investigation suggests that the individual likely contracted the virus following a bite from an infected mosquito,” officials said. “While the case is classified as locally acquired based on current information, the...

Health officials upgraded a recent travel warning amid a concerning surge of a mosquito-borne illness that causes pain potentially lasting for years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 2 travel warning for Guangdong Province in China, advising visitors to “practice enhanced precautions” due to an outbreak of chikungunya. The outbreak has shaken the province, with Foshan city at the epicenter, sparking an aggressive response from authorities that some are comparing to early COVID-era measures. Thousands of people in China have been infected with the painful virus. It’s an illness that is spread when a mosquito...

The FDA has lifted a pause on the administration of a vaccine for the chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne illness currently spreading from China. The Ixchiq single-dose vaccine was approved for adults 18 and up at risk of exposure to the virus in 2023 But administrations of the shot to adults aged 60 and older were paused in May of this year, triggered by reports of 17 serious side effects following vaccination, including two deaths. Most of the reported issues were neurological or cardiac, and all involved people over 60. An FDA spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘FDA has completed an updated benefit-risk...

A mosquito-borne virus that leaves victims in crippling pain and has triggered Covid-era restrictions in China is already in the US, experts say.Chikungunya virus can cause sudden, agonizing joint pain in the hands and feet, sometimes so severe that it leaves sufferers unable to move normally for months.Southern China is currently battling its largest outbreak since at least 2008, with more than 7,000 cases recorded in Foshan, at the epicenter, and infections in 12 other major cities. Heavy rains and warm weather have fueled a surge in mosquitoes, driving the outbreak.Dr Louisa Messenger, a mosquito researcher in Nevada, told the...

The outbreak, linked to an imported case, has prompted authorities to urge mosquito control and early medical attention.China is experiencing an outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne infection, with thousands of cases reported in the south. Chikungunya fever cases jumped to 4,014 on Friday (Jul 25), representing a rapid rise in numbers since authorities started tracking cases two weeks ago, according to public records released by health departments in districts in Foshan. The city in China's southern province Guangdong has been heavily impacted by the surge in infections. The chikungunya outbreak remains "quite severe", Sun Yang, deputy director of the National...

It is unclear whether the cause of the syndrome is viral or bacterial – a distinction with implications for treatment – although autopsies have indicated that those who died were suffering from other complications, such as Chikungunya.Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is endemic in the two states of Portuguesa and Barinas, but transmission from person-to-person is uncommon.While samples have been sent to the Venezuelan National Institute of Health, the results have not yet been released publically and there is no suggestion from health officials that VHF is behind this particular outbreak.One doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous, attended a meeting last...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced its approval of Ixchiq, the first chikungunya vaccine. The vaccine, which is made by Valneva, is approved for anyone age 18 and older who has a risk of being exposed to the virus. The chikungunya virus is transmitted to people through bites from infected mosquitoes. "This virus is in a similar category as dengue or Zika and is carried by the same mosquitoes," noted Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor. The FDA described chikungunya as an "emerging global...

Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York found people who have higher levels of certain acids on their skin are 100 times more attractive to the female Aedes aegypti, the type of mosquito responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Cell, could lead to new products that could mask or alter certain human odors, making it harder for mosquitoes to find human blood and potentially curbing the spread of disease. SNIP Experts have found people seem to become more attractive to mosquitoes when they're pregnant or after they've...

Graphical abstract. Credit: DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.033 A multi-institutional team led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has isolated monoclonal antibodies that in laboratory and animal studies prevented infection by alphaviruses, including the often-lethal Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). EEEV, which infects the central nervous system of humans, horses and other animals, is the most virulent encephalitic alphavirus. Although only a few human cases are reported annually in the United States, the fatality rate exceeds 30%, and there are no approved vaccines or antiviral drugs to treat it. These results, reported in the current issue of the journal Cell, represent new...

The biotech firm Oxitec has released its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, with the goal of suppressing wild, disease-carrying mosquito populations in the region. This is the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in the US. Oxitec previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Malaysia, and the company reported that local A. aegypti populations fell by at least 90 percent in those locations, Live Science previously reported. A. aegypti can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, and releasing modified mosquitoes offers a way to control...

Mosquito bites are bothersome enough, but when you consider risks, like getting sick with Zika, dengue, or chikungunya, it’s important that you choose an insect repellent that works well and that you feel comfortable regularly using. Protect yourself when traveling: Learn about country-specific travel advice, health risks, and how to stay safe by visiting CDC Travelers’ Health website. Use insect repellent: Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent with one of the following active ingredients. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.DEETPicaridin, also known as KBR 3023, Bayrepel,...

Estimated range of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the United States, 2017* Prevention of mosquito bites is the best defense. Geographically, the 75% of the range includes approximately 85% of the U.S. population. CDC has updated the estimated range maps for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes by using a model that predicts possible geographic ranges for these mosquitoes in the contiguous United States. The model used county-level records, historical records, and suitable climate variables to predict the likelihood (very low, low, moderate, or high) that these mosquitoes could survive and reproduce if introduced to an area during the...

Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases. Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood. […] Dengue and chikungunya are growing threats in the U.S., but some people are more frightened at the thought of being bitten by a genetically modified organism. More than 130,000 signed a Change.org petition against the experiment. Even potential boosters say those responsible must do more to show that benefits outweigh the risks. […]...

A new aggressive daytime-biting mosquito capable of transmitting debilitating and possibly deadly viruses has been found in the Los Angeles region, officials announced Wednesday. Known as yellow fever mosquitoes, the insects were found Oct. 7 and 8 in Commerce and Pico Rivera, respectively, according to the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. The Aedes aegypti species, which has black and white stripes and grows to about a quarter-inch in size, can transmit dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever -- viruses that can cause painful symptoms including headaches and high fever, officials said. "While these debilitating viruses, so far, aren't locally...

Authorities have estimated that about 1,000 people in Villa de San Francisco have contracted the disease. The Honduran government Thursday declared state of emergency in the town of Villa de San Francisco, some 25 miles from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, after hundreds of people were diagnosed with Chikungunya virus sympotons. "We are extremely concerned. About 200 families have been infected, causing each member to infect another,” said Romeo Montoya, representative in Honduras of the Pan American Health Organization (OPS). Montoya explained that the spread could have been brought to the country by several community members who travelled to El...

Ebola panic has spread all the way to the United States, even though the possibility of it actually spreading across American shores is dismally low. People might be better off preparing for the chikungunya virus, which has been reported several times throughout the southern United States — including a third case recently reported in the Dallas area, according to CBS. Chikungunya virus has hit the hardest in the Central American and Caribbean countries of El Salvador and the Dominican Republican. Although exact number are unavailable for the Dominican, El Salvadorian officials are reporting that there are currently 30,000 cases...

Border Surge: Secretary of State John Kerry warns of a new surge of illegals, just as Central America is being hit by a new wave of epidemics. No doubt about it: President Obama's open-borders policy is exposing us to disease, too. In a background press briefing at the U.N. last Tuesday, a senior State Department official said Secretary of State John Kerry told his counterparts from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico that the pause in minors coming across our southern border was temporary, and that "we have to use this time to put in place more efforts, greater efforts...

(Reuters) - Cases of chikungunya virus, a painful, mosquito-borne disease that has spread rapidly through the Caribbean in recent months, spiked higher in New York and New Jersey in the past week, according to new federal data. ... Symptoms, which develop three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, include high fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain and rash. In rare cases it is fatal. Small children and the elderly are more likely to develop severe cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC said the United States averaged 28 cases of chikungunya each year...

More cases of chikungunya, a painful virus spread by mosquitos, are being reported across the country. The Centers for Disease Control has listed a total of 497 cases in the U.S. in 35 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, 197 locally transmitted. Examiner.com reports that other state and local health agencies noted 40 cases, bringing the total to 537. The outbreak is due to a recent epidemic that started late last year in the Caribbean. The first two locally transmitted stateside cases were reported in Florida late last week. "The arrival of chikungunya virus, first in the tropical Americas...

(English-language translation) The Department of Health declared a Chikungunya virus epidemic in Puerto Rico since it is a new virus in the island, the population does not have the antibodies to fight it, and cases are concentrated in the same zone. As of June 25, 206 cases were reported in the island. It was [also] reported that 89% of cases in Puerto Rico were registered in the Metropolitan Area: San Juan, Carolina, and Bayamón. So reported Health Secretary Ana Rius this morning, explaining at the same time that, through Administrative Order 324 that declares the epidemic, all health plans must...