Saint Martin chikungunya case count up to 98 as outbreak in French Caribbean continues to climb

The number of cases of the mosquitoborne virus, chikungunya, continues a slow climb on the island of St. Martin and others in the French Caribbean. The number of chikungunya cases confirmed on St. Martin has increased by nine as the total has reached 98, according to an Epidemiology report from the The French Institute for Public Health Surveillance on Jan.2. (computer translated)

Aedes mosquito Image/CDC

St. Martin is also reporting 20 probable cases. Since the beginning of the outbreak, six patients (5 confirmed and 1 probable) required hospitalization for their illness.

Elsewhere in that area of the Caribbean, the report says there are 7 confirmed and 2 probable cases on the island of  Saint Barthélemy. This differs slightly with a previous report from the Regional Agency for Health (ARS), which reported eight confirmed cases.

In Martinique , thirteen chikungunya virus infections were confirmed by RT -PCR, and five cases were classified as probable . This is up from eight confirmed cases reported last week.

Read: Guidelines written to prepare the Americas for the intro of Chikungunya

LISTEN: Interview with the CDC’s Dr. Roger Nasci

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