Disease

Chikungunya Disease in South America

While some countries in the Caribbeans have seen their chikungunya situation get under control, in fact Dominica declared their outbreak over earlier this week, some areas of South America are reporting an increase in cases of the mosquito borne viral disease.

During the past week, Colombia saw an increase of 7,848 cases bringing the country’s total to more than 185,000 suspected and confirmed cases, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), by far the most on the continent. Colombia has also reported three chikungunya related fatalities.

Other South American countries seeing an increase in confirmed chikungunya cases include Bolivia (+45), Ecuador (+147) and Paraguay (+130).

In addition, Mexico also reported an increase in confirmed chikungunya cases during the past week, rising by 114 cases to 355.

In the United States in 2015, as of February 24, a total of 43 chikungunya virus disease cases have been reported to CDC ArboNET from 8 U.S. states so far this year.