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.
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.
http://rt.com/usa/166024-usa-incurable-chikungunya-virus/
"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.
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.
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