http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/05/asia/AS_MED_Sri_Lanka_Fever.php
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A fever spread by mosquitoes has infected more than 100,000 people in Sri Lanka, an official said Tuesday.
Chikungunya ? like dengue fever ? is spread by female aedes mosquitoes and causes high fever, severe joint pain, headaches and vomiting. There is no known cure for either disease.
Chikungunya is not usually fatal, but causes severe pain, said a Sri Lankan health ministry official, adding that the disease has been reported in almost every part of the tropical island nation.
The official did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On Nov. 24, the health ministry confirmed an outbreak of chikungunya after blood samples sent to Thailand and India tested it positive.
Mosquito-borne diseases often spread with annual monsoons, as the rains leave puddles of stagnant water for the insects to breed in.
"Already the number of dengue cases has gone up and we fear that with the ongoing rains, such diseases could reach an epidemic proportion by the end of this month," said Pradeep Kariyawasam, who heads the health department in Colombo, the capital.
Kariyawasam warned that people who do not clean up areas around their houses where mosquitoes breed will be fined.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A fever spread by mosquitoes has infected more than 100,000 people in Sri Lanka, an official said Tuesday.
Chikungunya ? like dengue fever ? is spread by female aedes mosquitoes and causes high fever, severe joint pain, headaches and vomiting. There is no known cure for either disease.
Chikungunya is not usually fatal, but causes severe pain, said a Sri Lankan health ministry official, adding that the disease has been reported in almost every part of the tropical island nation.
The official did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On Nov. 24, the health ministry confirmed an outbreak of chikungunya after blood samples sent to Thailand and India tested it positive.
Mosquito-borne diseases often spread with annual monsoons, as the rains leave puddles of stagnant water for the insects to breed in.
"Already the number of dengue cases has gone up and we fear that with the ongoing rains, such diseases could reach an epidemic proportion by the end of this month," said Pradeep Kariyawasam, who heads the health department in Colombo, the capital.
Kariyawasam warned that people who do not clean up areas around their houses where mosquitoes breed will be fined.