Cuban health authorities confirmed six new cases of chikungunya fever, a debilitating, mosquito-borne virus, on Wednesday, with most of the cases being linked to individuals who had recently traveled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where there have been thousands of locally transmitted cases of the virus, Cuba's Health Ministry said in a statement published by Communist Party newspaper Granma and other official media.
It is the latest in a spate of countries reporting the fever-causing disease to have afflicted tens of thousands across the Caribbean since its arrival in the region last year, the Associated Press reported.
The patients were confirmed to be "progressing well," with their condition "evolving favorably," Granma reported. Almost all of the patients infected on the island were linked to "illegal trade," it added.
When Cubans make regular trips abroad to import clothing, footwear and household appliances, they sell them back at home upon their return. In Cuba, the only Communist country in the Americas, this is considered to be an illegal activity.
Since mosquito-borne diseases are typically known to spike in the early part of Cuba's monsoon season, recent weeks will see the annual tradition of Cuban authorities ramping up a campaign to send brigades of workers door-to-door fumigating houses, offices and government buildings nationwide, the Agence France-Presse reported.
"The Health System ratifies the need to intensify the vector-control fight that is being carried out in the country, for which it is essential that in every home and workplace the necessary actions are guaranteed to eliminate possible (mosquito) breeding grounds," Cuba's Ministry said in its statement.
Traveling Islanders were advised to see a doctor and seek immediate medical care if they experience symptoms typical of the virus.
Chikungunya, which has long been present in Africa and Asia, was first detected in the Caribbean after two cases were confirmed on the Caribbean island of St. Martin in December 2013.
The virus, carried by mosquitoes -- most commonly the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, produces symptoms of high fever, joint and muscle pain, joint swelling and skin rash. It has also been described as a combination of a terrible flu and a sudden case of arthritis, with searing headaches.
Pain medications are available over-the-counter but there is currently no vaccine or treatment that eliminates the virus.
According to a report by the Pan American Health Organization, there have been about 166,000 suspected and 4,600 confirmed cases of Chikungunya in the Caribbean as of mid-June.
First human cases of chikungunya fever have also been confirmed in Georgia and Mississippi this year.
