China mosquito virus speed alarms western Europe, Cyprus monitoring
Source: in-cyprus.com
Thousands of chikungunya cases have been confirmed on the Chinese mainland, with European virologists turning a closer eye, as the mosquito borne virus has been on the monitoring list for the past two years. It is now also closer to home, as it has surfaced in a number of European states, particularly Italy and France.
Italy has also recorded ten deaths from the Western Nile virus, with cases also recorded in Greece and most of the Balkans.
The outbreak of the mosquito virus in China has seen over 7 thousand new cases, 3 thousand in just a week across 112 cities. It appears to have been brought in from abroad, with international media not saying or knowing much about where it originated.
Despite all the cases being described as mild, what has been reported as the rapid rise of the virus has alarmed scientists, with the Chinese government launching an anti-mosquito campaign and fining residents who don’t clear out stagnant waters, while drones are used to monitor hard to reach, isolated regions.
The mosquito carrying the virus can also be found in Cyprus, where competent authorities are monitoring.
49 cases have been confirmed in France (the largest chain being 13) with 2 in Italy. There is no human to human transmission, but can only be caught from mosquitos, with symptoms including high fever, sharp joint pains, headaches, nausea, rashes and fatigue.
Chikungunya is a word from the Makonde language spoken mainly in Tanzania and Mozambique. It actually means someone who slouches or bends, meaning how the body is affected by joint pain.
Around 80% of the cases did not display any symptoms and those that do are generally affected by mild pain. The virus can cause serious damage in just 1% of the cases.
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
