Florida man first to get chikungunya in the US....nasty stuff and mosquito season is here....

Well this is not something I would want to get. I have kids that play outside a lot and if this takes off in the US we are really in for a bad time. Once it is here, it stays here and will run rampant in the mosquito population for years to come. Not good methinks.....

A Florida man may be the first person to become infected with the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya within the United States, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced July 17.

The virus, which causes debilitating fever and severe joint pain, has been circulating in the Caribbean for the past few months, resulting in several thousands of infections. There have been cases of infection in people in the United States, but until today, all of them were reported in people who had acquired the virus during travels abroad.

"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," Roger Nasci, chief of the CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch, said in a statement. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

Source

WHO fact sheet on it...

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952. It is an RNA virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae. The name ‘chikungunya’ derives from a word in the Kimakonde language, meaning "to become contorted" and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain (arthralgia).

Signs and symptoms

Chikungunya is characterized by an abrupt onset of fever frequently accompanied by joint pain. Other common signs and symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. The joint pain is often very debilitating, but usually lasts for a few days or may be prolonged to weeks.

Most patients recover fully, but in some cases joint pain may persist for several months, or even years. Occasional cases of eye, neurological and heart complications have been reported, as well as gastrointestinal complaints. Serious complications are not common, but in older people, the disease can contribute to the cause of death. Often symptoms in infected individuals are mild and the infection may go unrecognized, or be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue occurs.

Transmission

Chikungunya has been identified in nearly 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and also in the Americas.

Source

I live in Florida too, time to bathe in bug spray lol

Hate the smell though. But there are alternatives, wally world sells a bracelet that seems to work pretty good.

originally posted by: HauntWok
I live in Florida too, time to bathe in bug spray lol

Hate the smell though. But there are alternatives, wally world sells a bracelet that seems to work pretty good.

I am just thankful that my neighborhood has the mosquito control drive by regularly. While I am not super happy about chems being sprayed around the neighborhood, it really does beat getting something like this from a bite.

My understanding is Chimichangas are carried by Mexican restaurants.

They are available with beef as well as chikun.

Where is DDT when we need it?

We just about had the country mosquito free.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Oh dear.

Good catch. F&S&