| Paula Marie Navarra | | Aug 19, 2014 10:30 PM EDT |
A map showing probable places that Chikugunya can spread in the US
Scientists warn that aside from the Corona virus and Ebola virus outbreaks, there's one more virus that people should worry about: Chikungunya fever.
Chikungunya is an infection that causes long period of joint paints lasting years. It starts with an acute fever that can last for two to five days which is followed by joint pains.
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Research shows the disease is transmitted to humans by the Aedes mosquito, the mosquito responsible for dengue fever.
It also said the Chikungunya virus that once spread to the U.S. from the Caribbean came from an Aedes Aegypti mosquito endemic to subtropical and tropical areas in Southeast Asia.
Researchers now believe Chikungunya could mutate, creating an Aedes Albopictis vector that was once responsible for Yellow Fever.
They said a worldwide spread of the Chikungunya virus is higher than the risk of widespread dissemination of the Corona and Ebola virus.
They predict that the number of Chikungunya victims in the Americas and Europe might increase immeasurably.
Remi Charel, one of the researchers who studied the Chikugunya virus, said this isn't a question if it will happen because it will happen.
Researchers believe there is a need for funding surveillance systems and developing countermeasures against the virus.
Previous chikugunya patients like Pete Pedersen said he didn't expect that he'd contract the virus in Haiti. He said he couldn't move even his finger from four to five days because of the disease.
Pederson compared having the virus to having a broken back where you feel like dying.
He said his pain was equivalent to a nine on what he called the "Richter Scale of Pain," It was that painful.
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