Chikungunya, a Mosquito-Borne Virus, Found in New England
A mosquito-borne virus making tens of thousands sick in the Caribbean has made its way to Connecticut.
The Chikungunya Virus rarely kills people, but it causes high fever and joint pain.
The state’s public health department confirmed that by Tuesday four people in Connecticut caught the virus, likely while visiting the Caribbean.
Anna DeBiasi claimed her doctor confirmed through blood work that she is one of the cases.
DeBiasi was in Haiti at the end of May, and about three days after she got back, she got sick.
“The orphanage I stayed in, about a dozen of the kids there had the symptoms, so we knew that there was a chance that if there were mosquitoes around biting those kids and then biting us, that our chances were pretty high that we might get it,” DeBiasi said.
One of the mosquitoes which carries Chikungunya, commonly known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito, has appeared in Connecticut, but state entomologists believe we’re not at the point that the pest will transmit the virus here.