The number of locally acquired chikungunya cases in the South American country of Colombia has surpassed 100,000 cases, according to a Prensa Latina report today (computer translated).
Since July 2014 when the first autochthonous case was reported in Valle del Cauca, 113,000 cases have been reported. This total is up from the more than 90,000 cases reported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Friday.
The eight departments in the Caribbean region account for 66 percent of people diagnosed, with Bolivar, Magdalena and Atlantic being the hardest hit towns, according to the latest part of the National Institutes of Health.
According to experts, territories along the Caribbean are more vulnerable to the spread of fever chikungunya because they are located below the 2,200 meters in relation to sea level, favorable conditions for the proliferation of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, mosquito vectors of the virus.
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.
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