Mexico reports first imported chikungunya case in traveler to Antigua and Barbuda

The Mexico Health Secretariat has confirmed the first imported case of a person infected with the chikungunya virus, according to a CNN Mexico report Thursday (computer translated).

Image/CIA

A woman from Jalisco state was diagnosed one week ago after presenting symptoms resembling chikungunya such as fever and joint pain.

Laboratory analysis of the patient’s sample confirmed the virus. It is believed she contracted the mosquito borne disease when she travelled to a May sports competition in in Antigua and Barbuda.

Health authorities say she is under medical observation and in stable condition. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page

As of last Friday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported nearly 190,000 “locally acquired” chikungunya cases in about 20 Caribbean countries. At that time Antigua and Barbuda had reported four comfirmed cases.

The PAHO says chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. It can cause high fever, join and muscle pain, and headache. Chikungunya does not often result in death, but the joint pain may last for months or years and may become a cause of chronic pain and disability. There is no specific treatment for chikungunya infection, nor any vaccine to prevent it. Pending the development of a new vaccine, the only effective means of prevention is to protect individuals against mosquito bites.