Cuba: 6 cases of chikungunya virus in travelers

[Judi Lynn]

Cuba: 6 Cases of Chikungunya Virus in Travelers
HAVANA June 18, 2014 (AP)
By PETER ORSI Associated Press

Cuba: 6 Cases of Chikungunya Virus in Travelers

Cuban health authorities on Wednesday said they detected six cases of chikungunya fever, a debilitating, mosquito-borne virus that is suspected of afflicting tens of thousands across the Caribbean since its arrival in the region last year.

In a statement published by Communist Party newspaper Granma and other official media, the Health Ministry said the cases were found in people who had recently traveled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where there have been thousands of locally transmitted cases of the virus. Their condition was "evolving favorably."

Some Cubans make regular trips to those and other countries to import clothing and other goods for resale. Havana has also sent large contingents of medical workers to treat the poor in Haiti and elsewhere, though the Ministry said they undergo quarantine before returning.

Chikungunya, which has long been present in Africa and Asia, was first detected in the Caribbean in December.
Deriving its name from an African word that loosely translates as "contorted with pain," chikungunya is rarely fatal, but those who have contracted the virus call it a miserable experience.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/cuba-confirms-cases-chikungunya-virus-24191999

[flamingdem]

1. Yikes!

Dengue was bad enough!

[Judi Lynn]

2. Dengue showed up suddenly, too, and took down a lot of unsuspecting people.

Cuban medical researchers worked fast and furiously before they could start getting it under control after it seemed to come from out of nowhere and struck hard.

These things seem intensely painful and destructive.

[flamingdem]

3. I've lived through the spraying that happens for dengue

kind of terrifying, people with machines show up and everything gets coated with a petroleum spray. They've done a lot to improve things but of course standing water is all they need to breed. The cholera problem seems to be under control. At least La Loba isn't yelling about it anymore. Tourists to their credit kept going in spite of the reports.