What are chikungunya symptoms? CDC issues travel warning for China amid outbreak

Americans travelling to China have been advised to practice utmost caution in the wake of the chikungunya virus outbreak in the country. A Level 2 travel alert was issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in this regard last week.

This comes as more than 7,000 cases of the mosquito-borne virus were reported in the Guangdong province of China, forcing the authorities to put in measures similar to the ones taken during the COVID-19 pandemic period, as per BBC.

Among the worst-affected regions in the country is the city of Foshan, where chikungunya patients have been ordered to stay in the hospital until they test negative. They will be discharged at the end of a week-long stay, and their beds are being protected using mosquito nets.

The viral disease is transmitted mainly through the Aedes mosquitoes. It is caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which is an RNA virus in the alphavirus genus of the Togaviridae family, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).

CHIKV was identified for the first time in the United Republic of Tanzania in 1952, while major outbreaks have been reported in America, Asia, and Africa.

A study that came out in Nature in June this year, estimated that around 35.3 million people get infected by Chikungunya on an annual basis across 180 countries and regions. It leads to nearly 3,700 deaths, which is 0.01% of the total cases, as per TIME magazine. The latest outbreak in China has been attributed to imported cases.

Liu Qiyong, China CDC’s chief expert in vector-borne disease control, told CGTN, “With the virus spreading globally, imported cases have inevitably reached China.”

The WHO states that chikungunya symptoms are quite similar to dengue and Zika, thus making it difficult to diagnose the disease and accurately determine the total number of infected persons.

Also read: Chikungunya outbreak: China on high alert as Guangdong battles over 7,000 cases amid COVID like strict measures

Some of the most common symptoms of Chikungunya include high fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, as well as joint swelling and rashes.

The symptoms usually appear around 4-8 days after the patient is bitten by the infected mosquito. At first, the person gets to witness an “abrupt onset of fever, frequently accompanied by severe joint pain,” as per the WHO.

Notably, the joint pain is often debilitating and can last anywhere from a few days to weeks, months, and even years in some cases.

While most of the patients completely recover from the infection, there are cases of eye, heart, and neurological complications that have come up due to the CHIKV infection.

CDC's Level 2 alert, which is designated as 'Practice Enhanced Precautions', came out after China marked over 7,000 cases of chikungunya infections.

No specific antiviral treatment is available for the chikungunya virus infections. Usually, doctors give antipyretic and analgesic medications, like paracetamol, for fever and pain, as per the WHO. Also, there are two chikungunya vaccines that have received regulatory approvals, but these are not widely available.

Severe symptoms and deaths from the viral disease are rare, occurring mostly among young children or elderly people who have co-existing health problems.

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