About Chikungunya
Chikingunya
is a virus whih is spread by a mosquito knwon as the<"Aedes
Aegypti". Chigungunya is also known in Mauritius as "chik"
or "chikun".
The first epidemic of chikungunya was discovered in
Africa, Tanzania, in 1952.
In Mauritius it was a
real problem and a lot of people were infected
during 2005 and 2006. Chikungunya is a virus found especially in warm and tropical
countries and mainly during summer season.
Chikungunya transmission
The
mosquito is usually a day-bitter mosquito
which has the virus of chikungunya in itself
and when you are bitten from one of them you
will be infected by the disease of
chikungunya.
Usually the virus of chikungunya is transmitted to human beings
by the mosquito during day time.
When the Aedes Aegypti mosquito bites a person
infected of chikungunya, it gets infected
itself and when it bites another person who
is in good health, the person will be also
infected with the virus.
Human to human
transmission
Until
now the transmission of chikungunya can not be made from
human to human, so it is not considered as a contagious
virus.
Symptoms of
Chikungunya
· If a person has been bitten
by a mosquito that was infected by the chikungunya virus,
the symptoms usually appears after four to seven days after
having been bitten by an infected mosquito. The symptoms a
person start getting is high fever which can reach 39°C,
headache, joint pains, insomnia, muscular pains, swelling
and skin manifestations. The fever generally last around two
to three days and then comes down. There are some persons
who feel themselves very weak, they even can not move from
the bed or feed themselves. So if you are having all these
symptoms you better go to a doctor to make a blood test.
Chikungunya treatment
· Until now there has been no
specific treatment or vaccination found against the
chikungunya virus.
Prevent chikungunya
·
There are some precautions that can be
taken to control the proliferation of the Aedes Aegypti
mosquito as avoiding water retention in different areas as
on ceiling and house roofs, always check water pipes that
they are not clogged, always cover water tanks not to let
mosquito enter inside, not forget to renew the water in the
flower vases once to twice a week, throwing away all
recipients that may retain water unnecessarily as food cans,
old vehicles tyres and garbage. Some precautions that can be
taken for persons are: use repellent creams for your body
use sprays and coils at home, use mosquito nets for
protection and try wear clothing that cover arms and legs.
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