Published On: Fri, Apr 4th, 2014

Chikungunya outbreak confirmed in the Dominican Republic

An outbreak of chikungunya has been confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Dominican Republic city of San Cristobal, according to a report in the news source, almomento.net (computer translated).

Image/CIA

The website reports that Public Health minister Freddy Hidalgo confirmed Friday that blood samples of people suffering from fever and severe joint pain sent to the CDC tested positive to the virus concerned.

Health officials said measures to prevent and contain outbreaks of the disease transmitted by mosquitoes have been implemented nationwide and they encourage the public to eliminate mosquito breeding areas.

Earlier today, it was reported that the chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean has surpassed 20,000 confirmed and suspected cases.

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

The disease shares some clinical signs with dengue, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common.

There is no cure for the disease. Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.

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Robert - Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63