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Scientists
knew it was coming, and now it's here: The first U.S. cases of
chikungunya, a virus carried by mosquitoes that can cause fever and
joint pain, have surfaced in a Florida man and woman who have not
traveled to any of the foreign countries where the disease is common,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The
two cases indicate that the virus may begin to pop up more frequently in
the region.
Chikungunya
has historically been limited to countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and
the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But it made its way to the Western
Hemisphere last December, when Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
reported 121 and two cases, respectively, of the locally acquired virus.
And while cases have certainly appeared in people in the U.S. before,
those have always been travel-related instances, CDC arboviral disease
chief Roger Nasci told Yahoo Health. These new cases indicate that a
local mosquito bit someone who had carried the virus from another
country; then said mosquito bit another person, spreading the disease
locally.
Two species of mosquitoes spread the virus — Aedes aegypti (the same critter to blame for spreading dengue fever) and Aedes albopictus, both of which are found in the southeastern U.S. and parts of the Southwest. A. albopictus
also resides farther up the East Coast through the Mid-Atlantic States,
as well as in the lower Midwest region. The best way to avoid
chikungunya, Nasci stressed, is to avoid mosquito bites by wearing
repellent and long sleeves and making sure that window screens are in
good condition. In this case, though, staying inside at dusk won't help
much, as these particular types of mosquitoes feed during the day.
CDC
officials expect that chikungunya will behave like dengue in the United
States, where imported cases have resulted in sporadic local
transmissions without triggering widespread outbreaks. None of the more
than 200 imported chikungunya cases between 2006 and 2013 have triggered
a local outbreak.
Chikungunya
joins another scary-sounding disease enjoying the limelight this week:
babesiosis, a malaria-like illness caused by microscopic parasites that
infect red blood cells and are spread by certain ticks. Six cases were
reported in New Jersey on Thursday, with five other suspected cases
being investigated, according to the Ocean County Health Department.
Though not everyone who gets infected develops symptoms, babesiosis can
cause fever, chills, body aches, and nausea; it can also lead to
complications that include hemolytic anemia, unstable blood pressure,
and even death — particularly for at-risk patients such as those who are
elderly or living with compromised immune systems.
The
chikungunya-babesiosis news is not exactly the most welcome for those
who are already anxious about mosquitoes and ticks as they try to avoid
illnesses such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Still, notes Nasci,
"there's absolutely no reason to panic. That's always the challenge of
getting a story out with information about a new disease."
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