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On the 30 June, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a ‘rapid risk assessment’ on the developing chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean region.
The outbreak started on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in early December 2013 and has expanded through the Caribbean during the first half of 2014. Recently, suspected indigenous cases have been reported from Central America (Costa Rica and El Salvador), raising concern about virus spread in continental America where the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti is endemic.
On the 4 June, ECDC reported indigenous cases of chikungunya in the following countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincint and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Virgin Islands, French Guiana, and Guyana.
Exposure to infected mosquitoes is the principal risk for infection in currently affected areas. Prevention of chikungunya among travellers and local residents is essentially based on personal protection against mosquito bites and vector control.
(Via - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control - accessed 01/07/14)
Avoidance of mosquito bites, particularly during daylight hours, by covering up with clothing, the use of bite avoidance measures such as repellent and bed nets is advised. Elimination of breeding sites around hotel rooms/houses is advised for longer term stays.
