Chikungunya in the Caribbean: 247 new cases reported last week of January

The chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean has grown by another 247 cases during the last week of January, according to the latest data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) released Feb. 3.

During the past week (week 5, 2014), new chikungunya cases were reported from the following islands: Saint Martin (FR) (83), Martinique (97), Saint Barthélemy (11), Guadaloupe (51). French Guyana reported two additional imported cases. The media reports three autochthonous cases in Dominica.

This brings the total number of chikungunya cases to 1,035 since the outbreak began in early December 2013.

The breakdown of cases is as follows:

• Virgin Islands (UK), 3 confirmed cases;
•  Saint Martin (FR), 476 confirmed cases;
• ‡ Saint Martin (NL), 9 confirmed cases;
• ‡ Martinique, 364 confirmed and probable cases;
• ‡Saint Barthélemy, 56 confirmed and probable cases;
• ‡ Guadeloupe, 119 confirmed and probable cases;
• ‡ Dominica, 1 confirmed case (imported), 3 autochtonous cases (reported by media);
• ‡ French Guyana, 4 confirmed cases, all of which are imported.

The ECDC says chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease causing symptoms such as fever, joint pain, muscle pain, headache and nose and gum bleeding.

Chikungunya is present in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and on the Indian subcontinent. The most recent large outbreaks were reported in 2005–2006 from Réunion Island, Mauritius, Mayotte and several Indian states. The first transmission within continental Europe was reported from north-eastern Italy in August 2007. Every year, imported cases among tourists are identified in several European countries.

Image/CIA

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