Chikungunya: Important Topics for UPSC Exams
What?
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral illness which spreads through mosquito bites and fever and joint pain are its most common symptoms. Other symptoms may comprise a headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.
- Symptoms similar to Dengue and Zika.
- First outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952
- Caused by female mosquitos Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti (also causes Zika and Dengue).
- Mosquitos mainly bite during the day.
- Even animals may get infected by the virus including birds and rodents.
Key Observations:
- Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent is the preferred location for such diseases because of moist and humid climate favouring the mosquitos.
- However, in the recent decades, these mosquito vectors of chikungunya have spread into Europe and the Americas.
- For Example: In 2007, disease transmission was reported for the first time in a localized outbreak in north-eastern Italy. Outbreaks have since been recorded in France and Croatia.
- It has been identified in more than 60 countries across the world (Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas).