As the world focuses on finding ways to treat the Ebola virus, another disease going by the name of chikungunya is growing as a serious threat in the U.S.
Chikungunya originates from Latin America, and has the potential to affect many Americans in the coming months and even years, according to Fusion. The viral disease is transmitted not by humans, but by mosquitoes, and early symptoms include extremely high fever followed by severe pain in the joints, rashes, headache, fatigue and muscle pain.
"The arrival of chikungunya virus, first in the tropical Americas and now in the United States, underscores the risks posed by this and other exotic pathogens," said Roger Nasci, Ph.D., chief of the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Arboviral Diseases Branch. "It is not known what course chikungunya will take now in the United States."
While symptoms often fade away within a week, some patients still experience joint pain for months and years. There is only a small chance of death with this disease, but a chance nonetheless.
The United States has experienced 1,052 cases of chikungunya this year, with just about every single of one of them involving contraction while the person was abroad, Fusion reported. The CDC has reported 252 cases in New York and 195 in Florida, which actually saw 11 cases in July in which the disease was contracted locally. Local cases have also been reported in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with 278 in the former and 25 in the latter.
However, the disease is expected to fade away this Fall, as the colder climate will not be so enjoyable for mosquitoes. Despite the change in weather, experts are still concerned about the disease mutating and being carried by other species.
Chikungunya is having a major effect on Latin America and the Caribbean as well, with the Dominican Republic suspecting that over 400,000 people have the disease and one death resulting from the disease in Colombia this week, Fusion reported. Venezuela also saw 13 deaths caused by the disease on Thursday, and Peru declared a health emergency on the same day that will last for 90 days.
The CDC said chikunguynya currently has no vaccine or treatment, and that the best ways to avoid getting the virus are to "avoid mosquito bites, use air conditioning or screens when indoors, use insect repellents, and wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors."
