Hispaniola boosts chikungunya cases over 300,000:
Hispaniola hot spots boost chikungunya cases over 300,000
The number of new chikungunya infections in the Caribbean region grew at a brisk pace last week, with most of the activity centered in the Dominican Republic and neighboring Haiti, as travel to those destinations continues to be linked to a number of imported cases in other countries.
The outbreak total climbed to 306,837 suspected and confirmed cases, an increase of 42,393 from the previous week, according to a Jul 3 update from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Nearly 30,000 of the new infections were reported in the Dominican Republic, while about 12,000 of them were reported in Haiti. The two countries make up the island of Hispaniola.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today in its weekly communicable disease threat update that most of the affected areas continue to report more cases, but the situation is especially severe on Hispaniola.
New cases in Central America
In Central America, health officials in El Salvador reported 212 more suspected or confirmed cases, boosting its total so far to 1,520, according to PAHO.
Elsewhere, El Salvador remains under a national emergency with thousands of suspected cases, PAHO said. It added that the outbreak is still expanding, having reached Central and South America. Over the past several weeks, three South American countries have reported local chikungunya cases: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
So far it’s unclear if a confirmed case in Costa Rica is local or imported, and health officials in Venezuela aren’t sure if all 12 chikungunya cases detected there are imported, the ECDC said. Guatemala is investigating a possible case, the agency added.
According to PAHO’s update, the number of deaths in the outbreak held steady at 21.
Travel-linked cases rise steadily. Two US territories were among the areas reporting new locally acquired cases. Puerto Rico reported 89 more suspected or confirmed chikungunya cases, lifting its total to 228. The US Virgin Islands reported 3 more confirmed cases, edging its total to 7.
Countries in the PAHO region reported 51 more imported chikungunya infections, raising the total so far to 162. Most of the cases were from areas that have already reported the disease in travelers. The exception is the Cayman Islands, which reported its first travel-linked illness.
Most of the imported cases continue to be reported from the United States, which has 114 chikungunya infections.
Meanwhile, the ECDC said several other countries have recently reported chikungunya infections in people with a travel history to the outbreak areas. For example, it said that Greece on Jul 3 reported a case in a patient who was hospitalized in Athens after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
Jul 3 PAHO update and Jul 7 ECDC weekly communicable disease threat report
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The weekly data on the number of chikungunya cases in the Western Hemisphere has been released by both the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The two international public health agencies released their data July 5. The data shows that the number of cases and the number of countries or territories affected by the mosquito borne illness continue to climb.
The PAHO is reporting a total of 264,444 suspected or confirmed cases of chikungunya. The illness has been diagnosed in 22 countries or territories. The Dominican Republic and the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have reported the greatest numbers.
The ECDC shows a higher number of chikungunya illnesses, 285,406. The difference is that reports to the ECDC from Martinique and Guadeloupe have a higher number of suspected cases. The ECDC is also reporting 22 chikungunya-related deaths.
Neither agency has the most accurate reporting. Paperwork is taking a backseat to other priorities in many of these small, impoverished nations. A compilation of public and media reports suggests that the actual number of chikungunya cases is well over 315,000.
How many people will catch chikungunya in this first wave of infections? Martinique and Guadeloupe have been reporting illnesses for six months. At this point in time, 11.7 percent of the population of Martinique is believed to have caught the virus. On Guadeloupe, 13.1 percent have.
The Dominican Republic has been reporting chikungunya illnesses for three months. In that time, based upon recent public announcements, 1.6 percent of the population has been infected. It is very likely that this estimate is lower than the actual number of infections.
Suspect or confirmed cases of chikungunya have recently been reported in the Cayman Islands, Brazil and Paraguay. The number of cases in El Salvador and Venezuela continue to increase.
The United States has not been immune to the increase in chikungunya cases. To date, the only locally acquired illnesses have been in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Reporting varies but that number is 20-23 for Puerto Rico and three in the Virgin Islands. The PAHO is also reporting an additional 119 suspected chikungunya cases in Puerto Rico.
In the continental United States, the latest reporting by state agencies is 141 imported cases of chikungunya in 29 states. Florida has seen 54 cases, followed by New York and Tennessee with eight each. There have been no locally acquired chikungunya illnesses yet.
Chikungunya is not contagious and does not spread from human to human. It can only be caught by being bitten by an infected mosquito and just two species are known to carry the several strains of the illness. The strain circulating in the Americas is only transmitted by the Yellow Fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. That species has a limited habitat in the continental U.S.and can only overwinter in the sub-tropical areas of Florida and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report chikungunya among US residents weekly on their website. Last week, the count for this year was 141 in 29 states. Florida had the most with 54 travel related cases of chikungunya. US Travelers Return With Chikungunya
Florida Department of Health Report: 2014Week25ArbovirusReport_6-21-14