Chikungunya

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. While chikungunya does not often result in death, the joint pain associated with the disease may last for months or years and may become a cause of chronic pain and disability. There is no specific treatment for this 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.

Chikungunya has been known to circulate in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In 2007, disease transmission was reported for the first time in Europe, in a localized outbreak in north-eastern Italy. In December 2013, the virus was detected for the first time in the Region of the Americas. Since that time, the virus has spread throughout most of the Region.