Caribbean in vicious clutches of a malicious virus

The chikungunya virus that first appeared in December has been spreading very quickly since then. There are around 4000 confirmed cases and 31,000 cases are under suspicion. This mosquito borne virus has established a great foothold in Caribbean’s major spots including St. Martin, French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Infection with the virus is characterized with intense joint pain as well as sudden high fever. The virus was prominent in Asia and Africa during December and later had spread to Americas. Even though the disease is not as fatal, majority of the patients are able to recover in a week but some others can suffer from joint pains for years.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquito is the main culprit for dengue as well as this virus. Dengue is similar to this in symptoms but causes a bad hemorrhage and is often fatal. This vector borne virus can be avoided by using mosquito repellant and screening the rooms with mosquito nets. The threat of this virus increases in countries as ours which are entering the monsoon season. Try not to have any stagnant water in your vicinity which is the best breeding ground for mosquitoes. The only way to stop this virus from spreading is to contain the mosquito population. This task is dependent on every individual’s effort. However, the eradication of such a virus is a very difficult task.