Puerto Rico declares epidemic as chikungunya virus continues to spread unabated

The Puerto Rican government declared on July 17 that the mosquito-transmitted disease chikungunya has reached epidemic proportions. Puerto Rico is only the latest country to fall prey to the disease, which has been sweeping the Caribbean since its arrival in late 2013. According to the Pan American Health Organization, a total of 354,000 cases are suspected or confirmed across the Caribbean as a July 11. “We’re seeing an epidemic ripping through a naive population, with a very large number of cases in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere,” said Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine. “There is every reason to believe we could see similar epidemics along the US Gulf Coast maybe later this summer or starting next year.” Virus causes severe pain Chikungunya, first identified in Africa in 1953, is characterized by symptoms similar to those of dengue fever, another mosquito-borne illness. “As with dengue fever, there is a high fever,” said emergency room...