UPDATE: Chikungunya Virus

Over the last week four more cases of Chikungunya virus have been reported in Alabama, along with the Huntsville case last week. One of those cases was in Birmingham. So far, all the people infected were travelers to parts of the Caribbean and no cases of infection from Alabama mosquitoes have been reported. However, the disease can cause relatively mild symptoms that may seem like allergies and a bad week of arthritis, which may prompt some people to stay at home instead of going to the doctor, so the exact number of actual cases is unknown.

There is still worry that the virus will spread to mosquitoes in the Southeast and an outbreak will occur. The CDC recommends following mosquito bite prevention guidelines, which can be found on their website and in the previous post. The CDC also urges anyone who has a fever and joint pain to see a doctor. There is no treatment and symptoms go away in about a week, but it is important that clinicians correctly identify cases of the virus so the infection patterns and numbers can be used to gather information and monitor its spread.

Certain Caribbean regions have been assigned Precaution Level 1 because of Chikungunya virus outbreaks. Anyone traveling to the Caribbean or South America should look up the region on the CDC Traveler's Page, which has information on current outbreaks and how to best prepare for travel to those regions.

CDC Mosquito Bite Prevention Guidelines

• Use air conditioning or window/door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. If you are not able to protect yourself from mosquitoes inside your home or hotel, sleep under a mosquito bed net.
• Help reduce the number of mosquitoes outside your home or hotel room by emptying standing water from containers such as flowerpots or buckets.
• When weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
• Use insect repellents.
• Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide long lasting protection.
• If you use both sunscreen and insect repellent, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent. 
• Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
• Treat clothing with permethrin or purchase permethrin-treated clothing.
• Always follow the label instructions when using insect repellent or sunscreen.

AL.com 4 More Virus Cases
CDC Chikungunya Virus
CDC Traveler's Page