While this is an avian flu site, the next emerging threat is exploding. Chikungunya-infected travelers have been diagnosed all over the world. France 850 travel related cases, U.K 83, U.S. a dozen. They have been diagnosed in Belgium, French Guyana, Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Martinique, Norway, Switzerland and Sri Lanka. Fortunatly we have good mosquito control in place in N.J. because of the West Nile Virus. The southern states are particularly at risk. Amy Ellis Nutt has written an excellent article in yesterdays Newark Star Ledger. amutt@star ledger.com Article entitled “Nature’s Assassins ‘ Deadly tropical disease arrives on U.S. shores. I am paying attention to this, we have the right mosquito a mile away, and an international airport close by. Anyone in the southern states should familiarize themselves with this particular disease. It is H2H already ,unlike H5N1. It’s here, and its contagious. Our weather has been unseasonably warm, the mosquito which is held in check by freezing weather could emerge, and one sick traveler from the Indian Ocean area would be all that is needed with the proper circumstances. While it may not kill ,the article mentions that after nine months half the patients are cured, but half still have severe arthritis. Not as frightening as a pandemic of H5N1, but serious.
diana, I have not seen reference to chikungunya going H2H. Do you have a URL for it?
I just read this article while drinking my dinner coffee, and didn’t get the URL for the Newark Star Ledger. What is did say that Charles Calisher a well-known virologist at Colorado State University is saying that the CDC must warn people before it gets into the country and established. He doesn’t think this particular disease will ever get eradicated, and he mentioned one nurse who became infected after taking a blood sample. He is concerned that CDC has lost its way since it became intergrated into the Department of Homeland security and that it isn’t getting the publicity and coverage that is needed, so that it doesn’t have the human source of the infected traveler. We have plenty of the right mosquitoes.
OK, here’s a reference to the transmission by direct contact with blood: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no10/06-0610.htm
I’ll probably contact my Congressman in Washington. I was going to do so about the Magnusen-Stevens Act. A bill to protect the oceans from the”pirate fishermen” that are overfishing our oceans. He talks a good talk out here in the district, but gets a bit more conservative when in Washington.
Here’s the link to the article Diana is referencing - just reading it now…
I don’t see anything in this article about Chik being H2H - the primary fear seems to be that it will be introduced to mosquitos here in the States (and elsewhere of course). Sure does sounds like something you don’t want to get!
There is already a thread for non-flu diseases where I’ll cross post this interesting article.
Might as well close this thread,as it is better served on the non-flu diseases thread.