Chikungunya in the Caribbean !!!!!!

[ColdEH]

Hey what's up with this , anyone down there now, have any experience with this scare?

It's big news up here in Canada, making the papers and the news, this is going to hurt the tourist industry down there . People are such alarmist's . I want to find out the facts .

Chikungunya in the Caribbean - Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions - Travel Health Notices | Travelers' Health | CDC

[Hud3]

Yes, it's a real issue. From a news article in SKNVibes.com....

HEAD of the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA) Dr. James Hospedales has stated that the Chikungunya virus has reached epidemic levels in the Caribbean region.

“By definition, this is an epidemic since it represents an unusual number of cases of this problem where we would never have it before,” Dr. Hospedales told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

Caribbean360.com states that the mosquito-borne illness was first detected in the Caribbean in December 2013, in St Martin, and last week Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the latest countries to declare an outbreak.

According to Dr. Hospedales, as of April 28 there were 4 108 probable cases in 14 countries throughout the region.

The good news is that it's not as serious as Dengue Fever.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

It's real. I got it in March, mosquito bite in St. Barth's I think. There's another thread going on this. Hannah

[ColdEH]

Yes , thanks I found the other threads ,

Just one thing that I haven't found an answer to , can you get this twice or is it a one time around and you are good .

Regards

[CaptTL]

The World Health Organization reported cases in the BVI's in April.

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[Zanshin]

I've been in the Chikungunya infected region for 6 months now. I met a lady in St. Martin and a gent in St. Barths who had gotten it. It is a nasty fever. But epidemic proportions might be somewhat disingenuous. The carrier is a different mosquito from the anopheles mosquito and it bites during the day. Those I spoke with said it was worse than dengue and the gent still had no use of his right hand after a month!

If one takes normal precautions the chances of contracting this mosquito-borne fever are low. I don't know what the Canadian press is reporting, but people aren't dropping like flies here.

edit: Typhoon, if I understood it correctly, there are strains out here.

[CaptTL]

Oops! My bad. It wasn't the WHO with the travel advisory. It was the CDC. Here is the link to the latest report.

Chikungunya in the Caribbean - Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions - Travel Health Notices | Travelers' Health | CDC

[JPA Cate]

Try googling on "how do chikungunya and dengue differ". Aedes mosquito is the vector for chikungunya, and one can get it subsequent times. However, if you wear long sleeved and legged clothes, in light colors, and use insect repellent on the exposed bits, you will be protected. It is easy to see the mozzies against the light colors and squash them. They are attracted to dark colors (where they are hard to see).

Ann

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Originally Posted by typhoon

Yes , thanks I found the other threads ,

Just one thing that I haven't found an answer to , can you get this twice or is it a one time around and you are good .

Regards

No, once you have it you are immune. BUT, as in my case, exhaustion before the virus was fully out of my body allowed a relapse, just as bad as the initial bout.

[caradow]

Hanna your assessment about being exhausted before the virus was out of your body is very difficult to prove from a scientific standpoint.
Also becoming immune after one bout is a bit premature at this stage.
Might spread the wrong message.
Also In medicine one researchers opinion is not always gospel so advice should be very conservative.
Proper precautions for any vector related disease is the most important message to spread.
Sorry that you were ill, I had Dengue years ago so I appreciate the suffering.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Originally Posted by caradow

Hanna your assessment about being exhausted before the virus was out of your body is very difficult to prove from a scientific standpoint..

Second occurrence was definitely a relapse, I had been at sea for 13 days, no mosquitoes there. I am sure the information about immunity came from the CDC. There has been a long history of the disease in Africa with ample time to study it. It is debilitating but not nearly as bad as dengue.

[robert sailor]

Don't know a thing about the C fever but D fever is something you can get again and I was told that it gets worse with repeats.

[Montanan]

Hannah, sorry to hear of your illness.

Yes, a second occurrence is apparently common.

Copied from Radio New Zealand International Website:

Prolonged pain for Tahiti chikungunya sufferers

Updated at 1:55 pm on 7 January 2015

Health officials in French Polynesia say about half of those who have contracted the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya face recurring symptoms several weeks after their initial infection.

The outbreak in Tahiti has affected about 130,000 people, or half the population, in the three months since its start and to date nine deaths have been attributed to the illness.
A doctor, Henri-Pierre Mallet, has told local media that a growing number of people are seeking medical care because they are again experiencing the same types of pain and discomfort.
He says these patients have not been re-infected but feel the persistence of the virus, which can produce similar symptoms again.
Based on observations made in other parts of the world, Dr Mallet says elderly patients risk developing a chronic form of chikungunya-related pain.
And he also warns that with a mortality rate of one per 4,000 chikungunya patients, French Polynesia is at risk of seeing dozens of people dying form the latest outbreak.

[ColdEH]

looks like Lindsay Lohan has got it .

Lindsay Lohan -- Hospitalized with Rare Virus | TMZ.com

Regards