CHIKUNGUNYA

                                                                  

                                                CHIKUNGUNYA

         Chikungunya is a disease which is caused by a Chikungunya virus. This virus is spread by 2 different types of mosquitoes like Aedes albopictus and the other one is Aedes aegypti. Mosqitoes mainly bites on day time. The duration period of this disease is two to twelve days and mostly three to seven days.

       This disease was described by an outbreak in Tanzania in 1952. The word chikungunya comes from the word Makonde (kimakonde). Currently there is no vaccine or antiviral treatments but medication focuses on the symptoms rather than the cause.                           

                             SYMPTOMS

 Most people infected with chikungunya virus, the following     symptoms are:

·        *    Chikungunya usually begins 3 - 7 days after being bitten by mosquitoes.

·         *      The most common symptom are fever and joints pain.

·          *        Other most important symptom include headache, muscle pain,      joint swelling and rash etc.

·         *       Chikungunya disease not often result death but the symptoms can be severe.

·        *        Some patients feel good in a week. But in some cases, the joint pain persist for several months.

·       *        Once a person has been infected, then he or she will be protected from future infection.

                             TREATMENT

·       There is no vaccine to prevent and no medicine to treat chikungunya virus.

·       Treat the symptoms:

    .  Plenty of rest.

    .  Drink fluids to prevent dehydration.

    .  Take paracetamol or other pain killers to reduce pain   

                      and fever.

    .  Don’t take medicine without any prescription.

    .  Please care yourself from bites of mosquitoes.