FLOWOOD, Miss. — The first case of the potentially deadly Chikungunya virus has been reported in Mississippi.
“It’s a virus that’s spread by mosquitoes. And previously it had been seen in parts of Asia, the Indian Ocean and Africa,” explained Mississippi State Department of Health Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs.
A traveling nurse, who recently visited Haiti, came down with the disease and broke out in a rash after arriving in Jackson. Her case is one of only seven in the United States. “Mississippians don’t have any specific concerns about this because it is not a virus that’s spread throughout the state or in the state at all,” said Dobbs. “But certainly any Mississippi residents who travel to areas infected by Chikungunya, such as the Caribbean’s need to take precautions against mosquito bites.”
Chikungunya attacks the joints and causes fever and muscle aches.
