Health officials in the country’s 6th most populous city has confirmed the presence of chikungunya in the population. Zamboanga Today reports that Zamboanga City Health Officer (CHO) Dr. Rodel Agbulos has revealed that they recorded four positive cases of Chikungunya in the city.
Agbulos said, “We are expecting some cases and we have seen some cases of Chikungunya.” Three of the four cases came from barangay Guiwan and one from barangay Lunzuran.
This has prompted officials to urge the public to eliminate mosquito breeding sites on their property to prevent the vector of such viral illnesses as chikungunya and dengue fever.
Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. It can cause high fever, join and muscle pain, and headache. Chikungunya does not often result in death, but the joint pain may last for months or years and may become a cause of chronic pain and disability. There is no specific treatment for chikungunya infection, nor any vaccine to prevent it. Pending the development of a new vaccine, the only effective means of prevention is to protect individuals against mosquito bites.
Related: Chikungunya strikes two regions of the Philippines
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch
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