The country on the northern coast of South America has become the second country on the continent to record locally transmitted cases of the mosquito borne virus, chikungunya, according to aa Associated Press report today.
According to Guyana Health Minister, Bheri Ramsarran, at least two “locally acquired” cases were confirmed by the regional lab. The patients are a 4-year-old child and a 40-year-old man from Berbice in the eastern part of the country near its border with Suriname.
French Guiana, the first country in South America reported their first cases in February this year and now have 176 cases, 70% are autochthonous. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says the virus circulation is intensifying, with new emerging clusters identified particularly around Cayenne. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page.
The first autochthonous chikungunya cases in the Western hemisphere were reported on the French side of St. Martin last December. There is currently greater than 63,000 cases reported in the Caribbean and South America.
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