Non Fatal But Very Debilitating Virus Sweeps Through the Carribean....Chikungunya!

Chikungunya. Chikunwhatcha? What the hell did you say? Chikungunya is an African word loosely translated means "contorted with pain". And that is exactly what this virus does. It causes you to have Arthritis like extremely achy joints as well as searing headaches and a burning hot fever. Chikungunya was discovered in Africa way back in 1953 but is making a new surge now all through out the Caribbean from Island to Island. It is transmitted from 2 types of mosquitoes, aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus. Although this virus is not fatal usually, it is very debilitating. More than 55,000 cases have been confirmed or suspected. There is no cure for this virus, all the doctors can do is treat the fluid loss and give pain medication for the joint pain. The good news is, once you have it and it passes, you then immune to it for the rest of your life. I wonder how it affects people with HIV and other immune compromised individuals? So far there have not been any cases found on the US mainland, but it's just a matter of time, since during the summer Americans love to visit the Caribbean. And MERS is here now in the USA so this will be here soon, I'm sure. So a word to the wise, if you go to the Caribbean this summer, make sure you use a good mosquito repellent, wear dark clothes at night, sleep under a mosquito netting and eat a LOT of garlic. Mosquitoes hate garlic!!!