Public health warning about Chikungunya mosquito-borne virus

A spike in Queensland cases of the devastating mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus has sparked a public health warning.

There have been nine cases of the virus in Queensland this year. File picture; AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File

A spike in Queensland cases of the devastating mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus has sparked a public health warning for people travelling overseas.

There has been a 60 per cent rise in cases in Queensland in the past year and the crippling virus is taking hold globally with cases in Europe and New York.

All of the Queensland cases have been acquired overseas.

“There have been recent outbreaks in China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and parts of Indonesia,” Metro Public Health Unit’s James Smith said.

Chikungunya usually presents with a sudden-onset fever together with joint pains and stiffness. The small joints of the hands, wrists, feet and ankles are usually most affected. These symptoms are often accompanied by headaches with pain behind the eyes, fatigue, muscle pains and a rash over the trunk and limbs that lasts about a week.

“The elderly and the very young are typically most vulnerable to severe disease. Deaths from chikungunya are rare,” Dr Smith said.

“The initial fever phase of the illness almost always resolves within a couple of weeks. However, anywhere between 10 and 50 per cent of cases experience fatigue, joint and muscle pains for months to years. A small percentage of cases experience inflammation of their nervous system, heart or kidneys, and the risk of these complications is greatest in newborns and in those who are older with other underlying medical conditions,” he said.

Mosquitoes capable of transmitting chikungunya virus are found in North Queensland, Torres Strait and some locations in central and southern Queensland.

But the virus needs to be in the community for the infection to spread, meaning there is no current risk of chikungunya spreading in those areas.

While cases are on the rise in Queensland, numbers are still small with nine this year.

The public health expert says travellers to tropical and sub tropical parts of the world should try to avoid mosquito bites.

“The mosquitoes that spread chikungunya are the same mosquitoes that spread other infections like dengue and Zika virus. These mosquitoes are found mostly in urban and residential environments and are ‘daytime biters’, which tend to be most active at dawn and dusk,” Dr Smith said.

Travellers are advised to stay in screened or airconditioned accommodation, use bed nets if screening unavailable, wear loose-fitting, light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and use of insect repellents that contain DEET or picaridin on exposed skin.

There is currently no vaccine licenced in Australia.

Originally published as Public health warning about Chikungunya mosquito-borne virus