All the information you require regarding the Chikungunya virus, which has started to spread in China and is once again posing a threat to the world
With over 7,000 cases recorded in Guangdong Province, chikungunya cases in China are still on the rise. Other nations, including the United States, are cautioning their citizens to travel to China with extreme caution, and the Chinese government is already taking action to contain the disease. While some media headlines may not help, and all of this may evoke memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, the truth is that the two scenarios are very different.
The chikungunya virus is spread by mosquito bites. Consequently, it is difficult to spread COVID-19, which is spread by coming into contact with droplets from infected individuals when they cough, sneeze, talk, or even breathe. An infected person must be bitten by a particular species of mosquito before a healthy person is bitten. This is how a number of factors come together to cause infection.
Despite the complexity of its transmission, this disease is a major issue in China. Taking preventative action makes sense. It is crucial to maintain composure, though, because it will not spread as quickly around the world as COVID-19 did. However, let's examine the essential information regarding chikungunya.
Everything regarding chikungunya fever
The virus known as chikungunya is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, specifically Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The latter is the well-known tiger mosquito, which is becoming more widespread. It's important to remember that this and other diseases are not always spread by these mosquito bites. Contact with an infected individual is a possibility, though.
This virus gets its name from the Makonde language, which is spoken in southern Tanzania. This alludes to a number of excruciating and incapacitating joint pains, which are among its primary symptoms. Patients ache from the extreme pain. In addition to a high fever, it can occasionally result in rash, nausea, and headaches.
Thankfully, 95% of patients get better fast—typically in 7 days or less. But for some people, the pain can linger for months or even years. This is especially true for adults over 65 or children under one year old. This also holds true for underlying medical conditions that could make the illness worse. Although chronic pain can be concerning, death is extremely uncommon and not serious in this sense.
What causes infection?
Tanzania is where the chikungunya virus was first identified in 1952. Cases were still being reported in Africa during that decade, and in Asia since the early 1960s. Although the virus did not make its way to the Americas until 2014, Central and Southern European nations now frequently deal with it.
Outbreaks are not as common in Europe as they are in Africa, Asia, or the Americas, although some isolated cases have been reported since the first local case was found there in 2007.
Only a very small percentage of people have antibodies to it, which facilitates the virus's transmission because it can be regarded as a relatively new virus in some parts of the world.
When a female mosquito bites an infected person during the high fever stage, the virus is spread. After ten days or so, the virus starts to grow in the mosquito's salivary glands and can spread to a healthy person when the same mosquito bites them. The chikungunya cycle restarts after symptoms start to show up, which can take anywhere from three to seven days.
-What is going on in China?
In Guangdong Province, chikungunya is spreading quickly; in a few days, over 7,000 cases have been reported. Naturally, this is concerning, but it needs to be viewed in the larger context. Despite only being a single province, its population is more than twice as large as Spain as a whole. To put it briefly, the province is enormous.
It is true, though, that the virus spreads quickly. As a result, steps are being taken, like using bed nets to isolate patients and delaying their release until they have been proven to be virus-free.
Even though some media sources are implying that the same actions are being taken to counter COVID-19, these actions have nothing to do with each other because the mode of transmission is completely different. Kissing, hugging, or any other close contact with an infected person does not spread the chikungunya virus. Transmission is impossible without mosquitoes. Mosquito nets are required here, but masks are not.
Therefore, using window screens to prevent infection indoors and mosquito repellent outdoors are the primary ways to prevent the virus. Naturally, spray in endemic areas, like swamps, and keep water from collecting in flowerpots or puddles. This is because mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, and the more of them there are, the more of them there are.