Australian People, beware of Chikungunya Outbreak

This is the news from Australia:

THE chances that Australia could suffer an outbreak of Chikungunya virus could be far greater than thought, following confirmation that native mosquitoes can be infected when exposed to the virus.

The virus -- closely related to the better-known Ross River virus -- can cause fever, vomiting, muscle pain, headache and rash. Its name is derived from an African word meaning something that curves -- thought to refer to stooped postures caused by the arthritis with which the infection is also associated.

While sporadic outbreaks have been recorded in Africa and south and south-east Asia, there is no endemic virus in Australia.

It had been thought that in Australia, Chikungunya virus could only be spread by two species of mosquito, which were confined to far north Queensland -- the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also transmits dengue fever, and Aedes albopictus.
However, Andrew van den Hurk, from Queensland Health's Forensic and Scientific Services, says testing has revealed the virus was is capable of being transmitted by other species that range far more widely. The two principal species identified as potential vectors, or carriers, are Aedes vigilax -- distributed along most of Australia's coast -- and Aedes procax, mainly along the coast from Brisbane to Sydney.

Van den Hurk says although the Chikungunya virus itself is not present in Australia, events around the world show this is no cause for complacency. Although not normally considered life-threatening, an outbreak on Reunion island, in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, in 2005 killed more than 200 people.

As global travel becomes more common, the risks increase that someone could be infected by the virus overseas, return to Australia and then pass the infection on to local mosquitos through being bitten after their return.

"There was an outbreak of Chikungunya in Italy last year that was traced to an Indian man visiting from India," van den Hurk said.

Professor John Mackenzie, deputy CEO of the Australian Biosecurity Centre, said the "current epidemic activities of Chikungunya virus show no signs of abating". "Outbreaks in the region are increasing, with new outbreaks in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. This greatly increases the chance of an outbreak in Australia and we simply can't ignore the risk any more."

Although the fever and joint pain associated with the virus usually only last a few days, in some people the joint pain can persist for weeks.

Van den Hurk says a person can only pass infection to a mosquito during the period they were experiencing acute symptoms. He says people need to reduce mosquitos' breeding areas -- by emptying water from plant pot bases and other places, unblocking gutters, and ensuring water tanks are covered.


You can read full alticle about this at:
TheAustralianNews

Internet Journal, Chikungunya Outbreak In Kurnool District

This is Internet Journal of Health, 2007 by Neelima Arora, Upadhyayula S. N. Murty, Narahari Dhanwada

Summary:
A sudden upsurge in fever cases with arthralgia /arthritis rising up to magnitude of an epidemic was observed in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh in November, 2005, which further escalated with time raising an alarm in other districts of Andhra Pradesh and adjoining states. Based on presented clinical features and symptoms, the disease was diagnosed which is a crippling and self-limiting viral disease. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a member of the genus Alphavirus of family Togaviridae. Epidemiological survey showed no mortality but an explosion in number of cases during February and April 2006 created a wave of panic among the resident population. Till April 2006, a total of 6072 cases were confirmed positive for Chikungunya. An entomological survey in the area revealed the presence of Aedes mosquitoes, which are vectors for the CHIK virus.

PMHD (Per man hour density) for Aedes ranged from 2-5. Breatau Index was observed to be in the range of 3.57-18.8. The presence of Aedes in very low density in the study area is not correlating with the speed of viral transmission, thus, indicating a possible involvement of other vectors. To prevent the occurrence of more cases and for timely containment of the disease, vector control measures are suggested.



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Britannica

Chikungunya Outbreak Hit Songkhla

I've been read article about chikungunya outbreak in Songkhla.

Chikungunya outbreak hit Songkhla with over 6,300 patients
Songkhla - A total of 6,379 people caught the insect-borne Chikungunya virus since the beginning of this year, a senior public health official said Wednesday.

Doctor Sanphet Ritthiraksa, a specialist on preventive medicine of the Songkhla Public Health Office, said the 6,379 Chikungunya patients were detected from January 1 to April 27.

Their number breakdowns to 3,007 patients in Sabayoi district, 1,387 patients in Sadao district, 328 patients in Thepha district and 314 patients in Nathawee district.

He admitted that it was difficult to control the outbreak because of mosquitoes in rubber plantations and frequent rains in the province.

You can read this news at The Nation.