Spanish authority concern about Chik-V
Increases in the number of people returning from holidays in the Caribbean suffering from the mosquito-transmitted virus chikungunya (Chik-V) has prompted a travel alert from the Catalonia regional government in Spain. David Ing reports
Doctors fear the virus might even spread to Spain itself, as one of the mosquitoes that carries it breeds in the Catalonia region. “Since May, we have diagnosed more cases than in the last four or five years,” warned Dr Joaquim Gascón, head of Tropical Medicine at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. He said 11 people had been found to be suffering from the dengue fever-like illness in the space of a month. All had been on trips to the Caribbean, where several countries such as the Island of Hispaniola neighbours Dominican Republic and Haiti were badly affected.
With many people from the Catalonia region choosing the island for their summer holiday, he forecast that ‘the number of cases will keep increasing’. The added fear is that the virus could start propagating in Europe, as chikungunya can be transmitted by the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), which is found in southern Europe, including both Catalonia and Italy. If the tiger bit a person already affected with the virus, it could then be passed on to other people, he added, warning that action needs to be taken: “What is needed is to take the necessary measures to make it difficult for these mosquitoes to reproduce (in Catalonia).”
The emergency response department at the Catalonia health authority said they were already working on monitoring the virus with precautionary messages aimed at holidaymakers going to the Caribbean. Medical professionals had been warned in the Catalonia region, and also local council offices in those areas where there are high recorded levels of mosquitoes.
While the virus is rarely fatal – usually only among the very young and very old – it generally causes severe pains in the joints that can last for several months. First diagnosed in Africa, chikungunya has spread rapidly in recent years, with cases now being reported in El Salvador on the Central American mainland.
Disease spread
Recently, Public Health England issued a report into the incidence of chikungunya in the UK, which notes that the majority of cases reported in the UK are acquired in south and southeast Asia, as well as in Africa. In 2013, there were a total of 24 confirmed cases of chikungunya reported in the UK – a 60-per-cent increase on 2012, but not as many as the 79 that were recorded in 2010. Ten of the 24 cases were thought to be acquired in India, five in the Philippines, two in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, and one each from Australia, Cambodia, Malawi, Thailand and Sierra Leone. In two cases, countries recently visited were not noted. Public Health England commented on the report: “The increase in chikungunya reported in travellers in 2013 highlights the need for all travellers to be aware of the risk of chikungunya when travelling to a dengue endemic area, especially in Asia and the Caribbean, and to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites, particularly during the day around dawn and dusk.”