Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Merida, Mexico: suspected
Date: Fri 28 Feb 2014
Source: Examiner [summarized and edited]
Dr. Scott Weaver, Director of the Institute for Human Infection and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, confirmed to the Houston Chronicle on 26 Feb [2014] that there are suspected cases of chikungunya in the area of Merida, Mexico.
During an telephone interview on 24 Feb [2014] with this reporter, he mentioned that a colleague was investigating those reports. The difficulty in confirming the appearance of chikungunya on the Yucatan Peninsula, he said, was the inability to test for the illness locally. Specimens may have to be brought to Galveston for testing.
[Byline: Charles Simmins]
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Communicated by:
This report is of significant concern, possibly as the 1st reported instance of chikungunya cases in North America in an area of active dengue virus (DENV) transmission. If these are, indeed, cases of CHIKV infection, there are no barriers to its spread southward into Central America and beyond.
Date: Fri 28 Feb 2014
Source: Examiner [summarized and edited]
Dr. Scott Weaver, Director of the Institute for Human Infection and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, confirmed to the Houston Chronicle on 26 Feb [2014] that there are suspected cases of chikungunya in the area of Merida, Mexico.
During an telephone interview on 24 Feb [2014] with this reporter, he mentioned that a colleague was investigating those reports. The difficulty in confirming the appearance of chikungunya on the Yucatan Peninsula, he said, was the inability to test for the illness locally. Specimens may have to be brought to Galveston for testing.
[Byline: Charles Simmins]
--
Communicated by:
This report is of significant concern, possibly as the 1st reported instance of chikungunya cases in North America in an area of active dengue virus (DENV) transmission. If these are, indeed, cases of CHIKV infection, there are no barriers to its spread southward into Central America and beyond.