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OTTAWA, Canada, CMC – Canadian health officials are warning nationals about the spread of the chikungunya virus, saying that, if they are planning to travel to the Caribbean or other warm destinations, they might want to take notice of a “particularly nasty disease they might encounter.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada said, since early 2014, there has been a “large surge”.
“This surge in Canadian infections has been associated with the incursion of chikungunya virus into the Caribbean and the expansion of the virus in the Americas,” Public Health Canada said.
According to the Ottawa Citizen, more than 1 million people just this year have contacted the disease, worldwide.
Originating in Africa, the virus has rapidly spread into the Caribbean and Central and South Americas, Mexico and some cases in the southern United States, the paper said.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also stated that travelers to Africa, Asia, and islands in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific are at risk.
“Often, chikungunya is compared to dengue fever, but while chikungunya is rarely fatal it’s something you definitely do not want to get,” said the Ottawa Citizen, adding that several hundred Canadians are said to have been dealing with the illness.
“It has gotten so bad in Jamaica that even children’s programs on TV were instructing kids how to avoid mosquitos and what to look for when it came to symptoms,” the Citizen continued.
The CDC recommends using insect repellent with DEET and cover exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and hats.
