The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : What You Need to Know About the Mosquito-Borne Disease Ravaging the Caribbean The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : What You Need to Know About the Mosquito-Borne Disease Ravaging the Caribbean

Friday, November 7, 2014

What You Need to Know About the Mosquito-Borne Disease Ravaging the Caribbean


Picture of man spraying mosquitos
If you’re traveling to the Caribbean anytime soon, bring the DEET. Chikungunya, a virulent mosquito-borne illness with no known cure is sweeping the islands. The disease is similar to dengue and causes extreme muscle pain that can last months or even years; it has been fatal in rare cases.

Historically, chikungunya (pronounced chik-en-GUN-ya), which was first discovered in Tanzania in 1952, has been more prevalent in Africa and Asia. Saint Martin was the first location in the Western Hemisphere to report cases of the disease in December 2013. In recent months it has spread across the region, with over 10,000 cases on islands like Guadeloupe and Martinique. Even Tony Saint Bart’s hasn’t been spared. There have also been isolated cases as far away as Florida and Venezuela.

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