News U.S. Officials Keep Close Eye On ‘Miserable’ Mosquito-Borne Chikungunya Virus

CDC: Cases Confirmed In 15 States, Including N.Y., With 25 In Florida Alone June 16, 2014 6:19 PM

 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — First there was West Nile virus. Now health experts are warning about another virus carried by mosquitoes.
The chikungunya virus — or “chik-v” — has sickened tens of thousands of people throughout the Caribbean with high fever and severe pain. Now Americans are coming down with it, too, and there’s fear that it will spread, CBS 2′s Kristine Johnson reported.
“This is not a fatal infection; it’s just a miserable infection,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Preventive Medicine.
Cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been confirmed in 15 states, including New York. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 cases have been reported in Florida alone.
“The chikungunya fever will last for three, four, five days,” Schaffner said. “You’re miserable. Then you’ll get better. We can treat you symptomatically.”
So far, all of the infected Americans have contracted the virus in parts of the world where it is common. But researchers are worried that mosquitoes in the U.S. could pick up the disease by biting infected people.
“There’s a concern that people from the United States who go to the Caribbean might be bitten by infected mosquitoes and then bring this illness, this virus, back to the United States,” Schaffner siad. “We have the kind of mosquito that will transmit this virus here in the U.S.”
Prior outbreaks have occurred in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Late last year, the virus was found for the first time on the Caribbean islands, where more than 100,000 people have been sickened.
“So far, we have no evidence that there are U.S.-bred mosquitoes that have become infected,” Schaffner said.
There is no vaccine to prevent the virus, which is rarely fatal.

Florida facing threat from two mosquito-borne diseases

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO Fla. Wed Jun 4, 2014 6:05pm EDT

(Reuters) - Two mosquito-borne diseases - dengue fever and chikungunya - are posing a serious threat to Florida and residents should take steps to control mosquito populations to try to limit the danger, a leading health expert said on Wednesday.
The Florida Department of Health, in its latest weekly report, said that through last week dengue fever had been confirmed in 24 people in Florida and chikungunya confirmed in 18 people. Both are viral diseases spread by mosquito bites.
All of the infected people in Florida have traveled to the Caribbean or South America and could have become infected there, according to Walter Tabachnick, director of the Florida Medical Entomological Laboratory in Vero Beach, which is part of the University of Florida.
Epidemiologists are worried that mosquitoes in Florida may have picked up the diseases by biting infected people, which could kick off an epidemic in the state, Tabachnick said.
"The threat is greater than I've seen in my lifetime," said Tabachnick, who has worked in the field for 30 years.
"Sooner or later, our mosquitoes will pick it up and transmit it to us. That is the imminent threat," he added.
Tabachnick urged the public to eliminate standing water including in buckets and rain barrels where mosquitoes can breed. "If there is public apathy and people don't clean up the yards, we're going to have a problem," Tabachnick said.
Dengue is potentially fatal, and both diseases cause serious and lingering symptoms. The most common symptoms of chikungunya infection are fever and joint pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tabachnick said the last statewide epidemics in Florida of dengue occurred in the 1930s. Localized epidemics of dengue occurred in 2013 in a small neighborhood in Jensen Beach where 24 people were infected, and in 2009 and 2010 in Key West where 28 people were infected, according to state and federal reports.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency said this week that authorities in 18 Caribbean countries or territories had reported more than 100,000 confirmed or suspected cases of chikungunya.
In the Dominican Republic, where health officials reported more than 53,000 suspected cases, hospitals in hard-hit areas are treating hundreds of new patients per day.
(Additional reporting by Ezra Fieser in Santo Domingo; Editing by David Adams and Will Dunham)

Chikungunya Virus Outbreak Likely in the U.S., Say Experts

Yahoo Health

By Dana K. Cassell
Thu, May 08, 2014

Related Articles

• California Detects Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes

Chikungunya (pronounced chik-en-gun-ye) is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bites of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which are found across the globe. First described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952, the virus then spread to Africa, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Originally believed to be a “tropical” disease, experts were surprised when an outbreak occurred in northeastern Italy in 2007. Now it has spread farther—to 14 Caribbean island countries since it was first detected on the island of St. Martin in December 2013. On May 1, 2014, the Caribbean Public Health Authority declared it an epidemic, with 4,108 probable cases across the region.
Get the Facts: Chikungunya Symptoms and Treatments

Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Chikungunya

The most common symptoms of chikungunya are acute, high fever and intense joint pain. The infected person may also experience headaches, muscle pain, swollen joints, and/or a rash.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chikungunya infection should be considered as a possibility in anyone who develops a high fever and joint pain, and who has traveled to the location of an active outbreak within the previous three to seven days.
A blood test is used to diagnose chikungunya and to differentiate it from dengue, a more serious viral infection, which is also transmitted by Aedes mosquitos. Outbreaks of dengue usually occur in tropical urban areas, according to the CDC.
Even though chikungunya symptoms can be severe, the disease is rarely fatal, unlike dengue, which can be lethal if not treated in a timely manner. Most patients with chikungunya begin feeling better within a week; a few may experience joint pain for several months. Some cases result in persistent arthritis symptoms. People at risk for more severe cases of the disease include newborns, adults over the age of 65, and patients with underlying medical conditions.
There is no cure for chikungunya, and no vaccine to prevent it, so treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms. An infected person needs to rest, drink lots of fluids, and take medicines like ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen to relieve fever and pain until the symptoms fade.
Learn More: The Big Dangers of Small Bug Bites

Mosquitoes May Spread the Virus to the Southeastern U.S.

Because the Caribbean islands are close to the U.S., there is some concern that chikungunya will spread to the U.S., perhaps via Florida.
The disease has been diagnosed in the U.S. before, but only in travelers returning from areas where there are outbreaks, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. So far, no U.S.-based infections have occurred. But Dr. Gio J. Baracco, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, told Healthline that the mosquitoes spreading the virus are already in the southeastern part of the U.S. “This fact, and the large amount of travelers passing through South Florida en route to and from the Caribbean islands, makes it very likely that chikungunya will be introduced into the U.S.,” he said.
Another infectious disease expert, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, explained how this “spreading” might occur. “Patients can acquire the infection while in the Caribbean through mosquito bites, and be incubating the infection. They’re feeling well as they come to the U.S. and then when they get sick, the virus is circulating in their blood streams.”
Then, an Aedes mosquito could bite that person and become infected itself, said Schaffner. “The mosquito thus infected in the U.S. infects another U.S. person, and that person in turn infects further mosquitoes. That’s how the virus appeared for the first time in a temperate zone, in Italy in 2007."
The virus could be carried beyond Florida, Schaffner said, but he added, “It might be established more readily in Florida, partly due to the volume of travel.”
Dr. Aileen M. Marty, a professor of infectious diseases at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, agreed. “It can spread to any part of the U.S. where the mosquitoes live and breed,” she said.
Although an outbreak may occur at any time, Baracco said that summer is a vulnerable time. “The likelihood of an outbreak is related to the amount of vectors [infected mosquitoes] present. Aedes mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, and therefore are more common during the rainy season.”
The CDC's Dr. Erin Staples told Healthline that although it’s not possible to say at this point when local cases may occur here, it becomes more likely as more travelers return from areas where there are currently outbreaks, as mosquito populations grow, and as the weather gets warmer.

How Can I Protect Myself from Chikungunya?

To avoid becoming infected, Baracco said, “People should prevent mosquito bites by using adequate clothing, applying repellent, and getting rid of potential mosquito breeding sites."
Business travelers and vacationers in the Caribbean should exercise extra caution, Schaffner added. “Cruise travelers and people who stay in the islands for a period of time will need much more awareness about the prevention of mosquito bites. Use repellant—especially if you go out in the evening or in the early morning, when most of these mosquitoes like to bite. Wear longer trousers and long sleeves.”
Schaffner also envisions a wider use of bed netting. “People like to go to the islands, open the windows, and let the Caribbean breezes come through—they’re not always in hermetically sealed, air conditioned rooms. If you do that now, you might have to sleep under a bed net.”
The CDC is taking several steps to educate travelers to the Caribbean about the risks of chikungunya and how to protect themselves. Staples explained, "We are continually updating our travel notice with the latest on the spread of the virus and recommendations to prevent infection. In addition, the CDC has been working with its partners at airports with flights to the Caribbean to educate outgoing travelers about how to stay safe from chikungunya while in the Caribbean, and returning travelers about what symptoms to watch for and when to seek care. We’re also working to post them at additional airports and to translate them into Spanish."
Read this article at Healthline.com

Latest News Deadly Yellow Fever Mosquito Resurfaces In Menlo Park

April 12, 2014 4:47 PM

MENLO PARK (KCBS) — A deadly mosquito that hasn’t been seen in the Bay Area since the 70s has been detected in San Mateo County.
It’s called aedes aegypti and it was found last January in the Holy Cross cemetary in Menlo Park.
It’s the mosquito that spreads yellow fever, chicken fever, the dengue fever and other diseases. Officials call it “one of the worst most effective vectors of disease around the world.”
The mosquito is tiny and its bite is hardly noticeable. Unlike other mosquitos, it bites during the day.
Officials are asking homeowners in the area to check their yards for containers of standing water, including birth baths, so it can be eradicated quickly.

Virus Advances Through East Caribbean

By FRANCES ROBLES FEB. 8, 2014

MIAMI — A painful mosquito-borne virus common in Africa and Asia has advanced quickly throughout the eastern Caribbean in the past two months, raising the prospect that a once-distant illness will become entrenched throughout the region, public health experts say.

Chikungunya fever, a viral disease similar to dengue, was first spotted in December on the French side of St. Martin and has now spread to seven other countries, the authorities said. About 3,700 people are confirmed or suspected of having contracted it.

It was the first time the malady was locally acquired in the Western Hemisphere. Experts say conditions are ripe for the illness to spread to Central and South America, but they say it is unlikely to affect the United States.

“It is an important development when disease moves from one continent to another,” said Dr. C. James Hospedales, the executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad. “Is it likely here to stay? Probably. That’s the pattern we have observed elsewhere.”

Tracking Outbreaks

Reports of locally acquired Chikungunya virus as of January 2014

Chikungunya fever is particularly troublesome for places such as St. Martin, a French and Dutch island 230 miles east of Puerto Rico, where two million tourists visit annually. In an effort to keep the disease from affecting tourism and crippling the island economy, local governments began islandwide campaigns of insecticide fogging last week and house-to-house cleanups of places where mosquitoes could breed.

The French side of St. Martin to the north has had 476 confirmed cases, the largest cluster in all of the islands, while the Dutch side has had 40 cases, according to the Caribbean Public Health Agency.

Already, the travel search engine Kayak said there was a 75 percent decline in searches for St. Martin in the past three weeks, compared to the same period last year.

Searches for Martinique, which has had 364 confirmed chikungunya cases, were down 18 percent.

“When I read about chikungunya, I thought: ‘There’s a mosquito in St. Martin waiting for me, rubbing its little feet together waiting to get a hold of me,’ ” said Betsy Carter, a New York City novelist who was scheduled to travel to St. Martin with two other couples in January. “So we all decided not to go.”

Ms. Carter was particularly nervous, because she had contracted a different disease from a sand fly a few years ago in Belize, which caused half her hair to fall out. Despite having bought insurance, last month the three couples lost $9,000 they paid to stay at Dreamin Blue, a luxurious villa overlooking Happy Bay.

“The owners said they would spray the house,” Ms. Carter said. “But what if you want to leave the house?”

Public health and tourism officials on the islands are urging visitors to wear long sleeves and insect repellent high in DEET.

“Not a lot of bookings were canceled, but there were a few people not understanding exactly what this was, thinking it was a pandemic on a large scale,” said Kate Richardson, a spokeswoman for the French St. Martin’s tourism board. “People got a bit scared, and a few of them have declined to take their trips.”

She said the hotel association had not reported the number of cancellations.

Chikungunya (pronounced chik-en-GUN-ya) causes high fever and muscle pain, symptoms similar to those caused by dengue fever, which has swept the Caribbean for several years. While dengue can be fatal and chinkungunya rarely is, experts said the effects of chikungunya, such as pain in the small joints, tend to last longer, sometimes for months.

Ann M. Powers, a vector-borne disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said past outbreaks in other nations had incapacitated people because the pain in their wrists and ankles was so severe.

“They miss school and work,” she said. “It’s quite a drain on resources and the work force.”

Nora E. Kelly, an Ontario restaurant comptroller, is leaving for St. Martin on Sunday with a group of 28 friends who have tracked the disease closely and loaded up on insect repellent.

“It’s been a miserable winter,” Ms. Kelly said. “Chikungunya is not going to stop me from getting on that plane in a million years.”

The health ministry in Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the Caribbean island, said no Canadian, European or American tourist at a resort had fallen ill.

“In order to keep the virus under control, various proactive steps have been taken and continue to be taken by both the Dutch and French authorities,” Lorraine Scot, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said in a statement.

Those steps include fogging, surveillance of suspected cases, biological lab investigations and a public-awareness campaign alerting people to the dangers of standing water, where mosquitoes lay their eggs.

The virus has also been detected in the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe and St. Barthélemy.

“It certainly has the potential to move to a lot of other places in the Western Hemisphere,” Ms. Powers said. “All of Central America and big parts of South America would certainly be susceptible.”

The disease is not likely to spread to the United States, because it is carried by two species of mosquito that prefer warm climates.

Chikungunya was first identified in Tanzania in 1952. The name translates to “that which bends up” in the Kimakonde language of Mozambique.

According to the World Health Organization, since 2005, nearly two million cases have been reported in India, Indonesia, Malvides, Myanmar and Thailand.

An epidemic hit Northern Italy in 2007, and in 2006 thousands were sickened in Réunion, a French island east of Madagascar.

Correction: February 8, 2014
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of a picture caption misstated the name of a species of mosquito that carries Chikungunya fever. It is Aedes aegypti, not aegpyti.

Vietnam releases dengue-blocking mosquito

By MARGIE MASON 2 hours ago

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TRI NGUYEN ISLAND, Vietnam (AP) — Nguyen Thi Yen rolls up the sleeves of her white lab coat and delicately slips her arms into a box covered by a sheath of mesh netting. Immediately, the feeding frenzy begins.
Hundreds of mosquitoes light on her thin forearms and swarm her manicured fingers. They spit, bite and suck until becoming drunk with blood, their bulging bellies glowing red. Yen laughs in delight while her so-called "pets" enjoy their lunch and prepare to mate.
The petite, grandmotherly entomologist — nicknamed Dr. Dracula — knows how crazy she must look to outsiders. But this is science, and these are very special bloodsuckers.
She smiles and nods at her red-hot arms, swollen and itchy after 10 minutes of feeding. She knows those nasty bites could reveal a way to greatly reduce one of the world's most menacing infectious diseases.
All her mosquitoes have been intentionally infected with bacteria called Wolbachia, which essentially blocks them from getting dengue. And if they can't get it, they can't spread it to people.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 2, 2013, specimens collected from traps are taken back to the lab in Pa …

New research suggests some 390 million people are infected with the virus each year, most of them in Asia. That's about one in every 18 people on Earth, and more than three times higher than the World Health Organization's previous estimates.
Known as "breakbone fever" because of the excruciating joint pain and hammer-pounding headaches it causes, the disease has no vaccine, cure or specific treatment. Most patients must simply suffer through days of raging fever, sweats and a bubbling rash. For those who develop a more serious form of illness, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, internal bleeding, shock, organ failure and death can occur.
And it's all caused by one bite from a female mosquito that's transmitting the virus from another infected person.
So how can simple bacteria break this cycle? Wolbachia is commonly found in many insects, including fruit flies. But for reasons not fully understood, it is not carried naturally by certain mosquitoes, including the most common one that transmits dengue, the Aedes aegypti.
The germ has fascinated scientist Scott O'Neill his entire career. He started working with it about two decades ago at Yale University. But it wasn't until 2008, after returning to his native Australia, that he had his eureka moment.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 3, 2013, Le Van Minh, 44, takes care of his daughter Le Thi Kim Tho, 9, …

One of his research students figured out how to implant the bacteria into a mosquito so it could be passed on to future generations. The initial hope was that it would shorten the insect's life. But soon, a hidden benefit was discovered: Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes not only died quicker but they also blocked dengue partially or entirely, sort of like a natural vaccine.
"The dengue virus couldn't grow in the mosquito as well if the Wolbachia was present," says O'Neill, dean of science at Monash University in Melbourne. "And if it can't grow in the mosquito, it can't be transmitted."
But proving something in the lab is just the first step. O'Neill's team needed to test how well the mosquitoes would perform in the wild. They conducted research in small communities in Australia, where dengue isn't a problem, and the results were encouraging enough to create a buzz among scientists who have long been searching for new ways to fight the disease. After two and a half years, the Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes had overtaken the native populations and remained 95 percent dominant.
But how would it work in dengue-endemic areas of Southeast Asia? The disease swamps hospitals in the region every rainy season with thousands of sick patients, including many children, sometimes killing those who seek help too late.
The Australians tapped 58-year-old Yen at Vietnam's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, where she's worked for the past 35 years. Their plan was to test the Wolbachia mosquitoes on a small island off the country's central coast this year, with another release expected next year in Indonesia.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 3, 2013, Dang Thi Kim Muon, 21, who has dengue fever, lays on the emerg …

Just getting the mosquitoes to Tri Nguyen Island was an adventure. Thousands of tiny black eggs laid on strips of paper inside feeding boxes had to be hand-carried inside coolers on weekly flights from Hanoi, where Yen normally works, to Nha Trang, a resort city near the island. The eggs had to be kept at just the right temperature and moisture. The mosquitoes were hatched in another lab before finally being transported by boat.
Yen insisted on medical checks for all volunteer feeders to ensure they weren't sickening her mosquitoes. She deemed vegetarian blood too weak and banned anyone recently on antibiotics, which could kill the Wolbachia.
"When I'm sleeping, I'm always thinking about them," Yen says, hunkered over a petri dish filled with dozens of squiggling mosquito pupae. "I'm always worried about temperature and food. I take care of them same-same like baby. If they are healthy, we are happy. If they are not, we are sad."
___
Recently, there have been several promising new attempts to control dengue. A vaccine trial in Thailand didn't work as well as hoped, proving only 30 percent effective overall, but it provided higher coverage for three of the four virus strains. More vaccines are in the pipeline. Other science involves releasing genetically modified "sterile" male mosquitoes that produce no offspring, or young that die before reaching maturity, to decrease populations.

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In this Sept. 4, 2013 photo, patients with dengue fever are treated at Khanh Hoa General Hospital in …

Wolbachia could end up being used in combination with these and other methods, including mosquito traps and insecticide-treated materials.
"I've been working with this disease now for 40-something years, and we have failed miserably," says Duane Gubler, a dengue expert at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore who is not involved with the Wolbachia research.
"We are now coming into a very exciting period where I think we'll be able to control the disease. I really do."
Wolbachia also blocks other mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever and chikungunya, O'Neill says. Similar research is being conducted for malaria, though that's trickier because the disease is carried by several different types of mosquitoes.
It's unclear why mosquitoes that transmit dengue do not naturally get Wolbachia, which is found in up to 70 percent of insects in the wild. But O'Neill doesn't believe that purposefully infecting mosquitoes will negatively impact ecosystems. He says the key to overcoming skepticism is to be transparent with research while providing independent risk analyses and publishing findings in high-caliber scientific journals.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 2, 2013, scientist Nguyen Thi Yen, center, helps her colleagues to coll …

"I think, intuitively, it makes sense that it's unlikely to have a major consequence of introducing Wolbachia into one more species," O'Neill says, adding that none of his work is for profit. "It's already in millions already."
Dengue typically comes in cycles, hitting some areas harder in different years. People remain susceptible to the other strains after being infected with one, and it is largely an urban disease with mosquitoes breeding in stagnant water.
Laos and Singapore have experienced their worst outbreaks in recent history this season. Thailand has also struggled with a large number of patients. Cases have also been reported in recent years outside tropical regions, including in the U.S. and Europe.
Vietnam has logged lower numbers this year overall, but the country's highest dengue rate is in the province where Yen is conducting her work.
At the area's main hospital in Nha Trang, Dr. Nguyen Dong, director of infectious diseases, says 75 of the 86 patients crammed into the open-air ward are infected with the virus.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 1, 2013, scientist Nguyen Thi Yen blood feeds a cage of mosquitoes in h …

Before jabbing his fingers into the stomach of one seriously ill patient to check for pain, he talks about how the dengue season has become much longer in recent years. And despite the government's increased education campaigns and resources, the disease continues to overwhelm the hospital.
If the experiment going on just a short boat ride away from the hospital is successful, it eventually will be expanded across the city and the entire province.
____
The 3,500 people on Tri Nguyen island grew accustomed to what would be a bizarre scene almost anywhere else: For five months, community workers went house-to-house in the raging heat, releasing cups of newborn mosquitoes.
And the residents were happy to have them.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 1, 2013, a volunteer's swollen feet are seen after blood feeding a cage …

"We do not kill the mosquitoes. We let them bite," says fisherman Tran To. "The Wolbachia living in the house is like a doctor in the house. They may bite, but they stop dengue."
Specimens collected from traps are taken back to the lab for analysis to determine how well Wolbachia mosquitoes are infiltrating the native population.
The strain of bacteria used on the island blocks dengue 100 percent, but it's also the hardest to sustain. At one point, 90 percent of the mosquitoes were infected, but the rate dropped to about 65 percent after the last batch was released in early September. A similar decrease occurred in Australia as well, and scientists switched to other Wolbachia strains that thrive better in the wild but have lesser dengue-blocking abilities.
The job is sure to keep Yen busy in her little mosquito lab, complete with doors covered by long overlapping netting.
And while she professes to adore these pests nurtured by her own blood, she has a much stronger motivation for working with them: Dengue nearly claimed her own life many years ago, and her career has been devoted to sparing others the same fate.

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In this photo taken on Sept. 1, 2013, scientist Nguyen Thi Yen blood feeds a cage of mosquitoes in h …

"I love them," she says, "when I need them."
____
On the Net: http://www.eliminatedengue.com/

California Detects Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes

 By Morgan Jones
Sat, Oct 19, 2013

As if the West Nile virus wasn't enough of a reason to try to stay away from mosquitoes, residents of California now have a new reason to avoid these bug bites. State officials have discovered a type of mosquito known to carry other, sometimes serious, diseases.
Video Overview: California Detects Disease Carrying Mosquitos
The discovered species of mosquito is not native to the state and is known to carry a variety of diseases, including yellow fever and dengue fever.
Health officials are asking residents to report mosquito bites received during the day — when this type of mosquito often strikes.
"Fix screens on windows and doors to keep bugs out."
According to the County of Fresno Department of Public Health (DPH), the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito was first detected in June in Clovis, a city in Fresno County, in nearby Madera county and in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay area. This week, new reports of the bugs came from additional locations in Fresno County, in the cities of Fresno and Fowler.
While no illnesses associated with the bugs have been reported, health authorities are on alert. The Aedes aegypti is known to carry diseases like yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya fever.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), yellow fever is usually found in the tropical and subtropical regions of South America and Africa. Most infected people have no illness or have mild symptoms like fever, chills, body aches, nausea, vomiting and weakness. However, in about 15 percent of cases, patients experience a brief period of remission followed by severe illness including high fever, bleeding and organ failure.
More: Infectious Disease News & Articles
Dengue fever is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. Symptoms include high fever, joint, muscle and bone pain, severe headache and rash. In rare cases, dengue hemorrhagic fever can develop, which includes symptoms like severe abdominal pain and problems breathing, said CDC.
Chikungunya fever is mostly found in Africa and Asia. Typical symptoms also include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain and rash. CDC reported that symptoms usually last for a few days to a few weeks, but the disease can linger and in some cases, severe joint pain can last for weeks or months.
Related Story: Honey Treatment for Infections Isn't So Sweet
The Aedes aegypti is small and dark with white markings and bands on the legs, reported Fresno DPH. The bugs might be active during dusk and dawn but typically bite during the day, often indoors.
In a Fresno DPH news release, Tim Phillips, Manager of the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District stressed the importance of being proactive against mosquitoes.
“Detection of this mosquito in additional communities is of great concern. The public’s help is needed to eradicate this mosquito population before it can become established,” said Phillips. “Residents who experience mosquito bites during the day are asked to contact their mosquito abatement district right away.”
dailyRx: Relevant Health News

Mosquito

Mosquito

 The mosquitoes are small, blood sucking flies. They belong to the family Culicidae. Only the female mosquitoes are blood eating pests. When a mosquito bites she also injects into the animal blood pathogens that cause disease. Mosquito-borne diseases are spread to hundreds of millions of people all over the world. These diseases cause millions of deaths every year. Some of the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes to people include malaria, West Nile virus, dengue fever, and yellow fever. They are the most dangerous animals on Earth because the pathogens they carry and transmit kill more humans than all of the other predators put together countless number of times.