CDC issues travel notice to Bermuda due to chikungunya in Bermuda
Posted by Robert Herriman on January 20, 2015
In December 2014, Bermuda reported local transmission of chikungunya. This is the first time that local transmission of chikungunya has been reported in Bermuda. To date, the island has seen 10 suspected and confirmed autochthonous chikungunya cases.
Chikungunya in Columbia: 113,000 cases and counting
Posted by Robert Herriman on January 20, 2015
The number of locally acquired chikungunya cases in the South American country of Columbia has surpassed 100,000 cases, according to a Prensa Latina report. Since July 2014 when the first autochthonous case was reported in Valle del Cauca, 113,000 cases have been reported. The total is up from the more than 90,000 cases reported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Friday.
The eight departments in the Caribbean region account for 66 percent of people diagnosed, with Bolivar, Magdalena, and Atlantic being the hardest hit towns, according to the National Institutes of Health. According to experts, territories along the Caribbean are more vulnerable to the spread of chikungunya because they are located below the 2,200 meters in relation to sea level, favorable conditions for the proliferation of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, mosquito vectors of the virus.