A patient in Italy has developed chikingunya fever after traveling to Sri Lanka, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Singapore officials have also recorded 37 recent cases of chikingunya fever.
Chikingunya fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection with similar symptoms to dengue, including fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, rash, fatigue, and joint pain. Joint pain may be debilitating and, unlike dengue, prolonged; however, as with dengue, fatigue in some cases may last for weeks or months. The disease is rarely fatal.
There is no vaccine. Treatment is symptomatic, including rest, fluids, and common pain killers such as acetaminophen, ibuprophen, naproxen, or paracetamol; however, aspirin should be avoided.
More information on the outbreak is available on CDC’s Travelers’ Health webpage.
