Headed To The Caribbean? What You Need To Know About The Mosquito Virus There

This 2006 photo made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito acquiring a blood meal from a human host at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The Chikungunya virus, spread by mosquitoes such as this and the Aedes albopictus species, causes fever and agonizing joint pain that can last for months. (AP Photo/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, James Gathany)

Vacationing in the Caribbean? Thousands of travelers have caught a virus spread by mosquitoes that has recently taken hold in the region. Chikungunya (chih-kihn-GOON'-yuh) causes fever and agonizing joint pain that can last for months.

Some things to know:

WHERE IT'S FOUND

Chikungunya spread from Asia and Africa in late 2013 to the Caribbean, Latin America and parts of South America and Mexico. It's in at least two dozen countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere now. About a dozen people are thought to have caught the virus in Florida.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE IT?

Symptoms can include fever, a rash, joint pain mostly in the arms and legs, headache, muscle pain and back pain. Symptoms usually start three to seven days after the mosquito bite. A blood test can confirm infection.

HOW IS IT TREATED?

Mostly people are given medicines for pain, which can be severe enough to lead to hospitalization. The virus was first discovered in Africa in the 1950s and the name chikungunya comes from a word that means to become contorted, describing the stooped look of its victims.

CAN IT BE PREVENTED?

There is no vaccine, so prevention is mostly avoiding being bitten. Use bug repellent with plenty of the active ingredient - many experts recommend DEET. Keep arms and legs covered.

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Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/

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Contributed by Marilynn Marchione. She can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport

Travelore Health Alerts: Puerto Rico Declares Chikungunya Epidemic

 (AP) - Health officials in Puerto Rico on Thursday declared an epidemic of the mosquito-borne virus known as chikungunya, which was introduced into the Caribbean region late last year.

Health Secretary Ana Rius said that more than 200 cases had been confirmed on the island as of June 25 and that the majority of them were reported in the capital of San Juan and nearby areas.

The first case of chikungunya in the U.S. territory was reported in late May.

Also on Thursday, officials in Jamaica reported the island's first confirmed case. The chief medical officer, Dr. Kevin Harvey, said the virus was found in a person who had recently traveled to a country where there have been locally transmitted cases.

In Florida, health officials reported the first domestically acquired chikungunya infections in the United States. Officials said it happened in two cases, both of which involved a person infected with the virus after visiting the Caribbean being bitten again by an uninfected mosquito in Florida, which then transmitted the illness further.

Across the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization recorded more than 354,000 suspected and confirmed cases as of July 11. The Western Hemisphere's first locally transmitted case was confirmed in December in the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin.

Chikungunya was first identified in Africa in 1953. It causes a high fever and severe pain in the joints, but is rarely fatal. There is no vaccine, and it mainly is treated with pain medication.

CDC Issues Travel Health Advisory For St. Martin

(AP) - U.S. health officials have issued a travel advisory for the Caribbean island of St. Martin because of a mosquito-borne disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's closely following reports of the chikungunya (chik-un-GUHN-ya) virus among residents of the French side of St. Martin.

The World Health Organization has reported 10 confirmed cases on the island. The CDC says it's the first time the disease has been reported among non-travelers in the Western Hemisphere.

The virus can cause fever, joint pains, a rash, muscle aches and headaches. Travelers to St. Martin are advised to avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants, and to use air conditioning and window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out.