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TN man may be treated for new kind of mosquito-borne virus
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
An east Tennessee man may now have the first case of chikungunya in the state this year, and health officials are preparing for a possible outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus as the World Cup approaches.
Diana and Eugene Davidson are world travelers to the extreme. On their last trip, they went on a boat tour deep into the jungles of Indonesia.
"We just slept under a mosquito net," Diana Davidson said.
But a few days into the excursion, Eugene Davidson started getting sick.
"It hurt so bad that he can't move," Diana Davidson said.
The rest of the trip was spent going from hospital to hospital, and doctors in Indonesia and Malaysia said Eugene Davidson had all the symptoms of chikungunya, an illness that causes fever and excruciating joint pain.
The virus is common in southeast Asia but new to the United States. So far, only a few cases have been reported in Florida and Arkansas.
When the Davidsons finally returned home, doctors in Knoxville had never heard of chikungunya.
"They were coming and asking me, 'How do you spell this?'" Diana Davidson said.
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