Chikungunya from india to UK by plane

[Mingus]

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/prome..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,34383

<table summary=""><tbody><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Archive Number</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">20060913.2595</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Published Date</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">13-SEP-2006</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Subject</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">PRO/AH/EDR> Chikungunya - Indian Ocean update (30): spread to UK</td></tr> </tbody></table>
CHIKUNGUNYA - INDIAN OCEAN UPDATE (30): SPREAD TO UK
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: 13 Sep 2006
From: A-Lan Banks <A-Lan.Banks@thomson.com>
Source: Reuters.uk, UK, 13 Sep 2006 [edited]
<http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-09-12T231349Z_01_L12753606_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-CHIKUNGUNYA-BRITAIN-DC.XML&archived=False>


Cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in people returning to
Britain from islands in the Indian Ocean have risen dramatically,
public health experts said on Wednesday [13 Sep 2006].

More than 115 travelers have shown symptoms of the illness -- which
causes a high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle and joint
pain -- so far this year [2006], compared to an average of about 6
cases annually.


The Health Protection Agency (HPA), which monitors infectious
diseases, said there has been a rise in cases of the illness in the
Indian Ocean islands, particularly Reunion.

Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the HPA, told its annual
conference in Coventry that cases in mainland India are also increasing.

"Therefore, it is important that travelers to the region follow the
usual health advice on how to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and
other insects," he said in a statement.

French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said on Monday [11 Sep 2006]
that a drug to fight the disease, which was 1st identified in
Tanzania in 1952, could be ready by the end of the year [2006].

Bertrand added that French and American authorities have agreed to
work on a vaccine that protects against the virus.

The incubation period for the illness can be 2-12 days. Acute fever
can last a couple of weeks. Some patients report debilitating joint
pain, which can continue for weeks or months.

Treatment consists of rest, drinking fluids and taking painkillers,
according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States.

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[This is yet another example of rapid, long-distance transport of
infected people to countries where a particular pathogenic virus, in
this case chikungunya, is absent. Fortunately, the virus is unlikely
to become established in the UK because the usual mosquito vectors
are absent. - Mod.TY]</pre>

 

[Mingus]

Re: Chikungunya from india to UK by plane

<table summary=""><tbody><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Archive Number</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">20060916.2630</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Published Date</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">16-SEP-2006</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Subject</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">PRO/AH/EDR> Chikungunya - Indian Ocean update (30): spread to UK, corr.</td></tr> </tbody></table>

CHIKUNGUNYA - INDIAN OCEAN UPDATE (30): SPREAD TO UK, CORRECTION
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: 14 Sep 2006 07:27:46 -0400
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Phil Luton <Phil.Luton@hpa.org.uk>


[ProMED received the following correction to the earlier post
(Chikungunya - Indian Ocean update (30): spread to UK 20060913.2595)
from Dr. Phil Luton, Business Development & Communications, Health
Protection Agency, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response,
Porton Down, Salisbury]

Please accept this email as official notification that we have
identified an error in the number of cases that we reported in our
original press release, which you subsequently picked up from
Reuters, in respect of Chikungunya virus, and have posted.

The figure of over 115 cases as reported referred to the number of
samples that had been tested and this was the number presented in the
paper at our annual conference. It subsequently transpired that we
had received multiple samples from a number of patients and we have
therefore refined the number of cases down from 115 to 93.

In all other respects the press release is accurate, in that this is
a significant increase, and travellers should take appropriate
precautions to avoid being bitten. We have corrected the numbers on
the version of the press release posted on our website and wanted to
make you aware of the situation in case this leads to any confusion.

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[ProMED thanks Dr. Luton for this timely information. The reduction
in the numbers of chikungunya cases imported into the UK does not
alter the importance of this observation, or the need to avoid
mosquito bites and remain vigilant to detect the possible presence of
the vector, _Aedes albopictus_, in the UK, which could provide
suitable conditions for its establishment.
- Mod.TY]