The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released their weekly report on the number of confirmed chikungunya cases reported to them on June 24. They have 93 cases found in 22 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Only Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have reported locally acquired chikungunya illnesses.
In addition to the CDC data, a compilation of reports from local and state agencies and the media increases the total number of chikungunya illnesses to 117. Three additional states are on the list as are 24 additional cases.
Florida has reported 48 chikungunya cases as of their arbovirus surveillance report through June 21. The cases have appeared in 20 counties. Haiti is the country of origin for 36 of the 48 illnesses.
Only Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have reported locally transmitted cases of chikungunya. Puerto Rico has documented 23 such illnesses. The Virgin Islands has document one, along with two imported cases.
The outbreak across the Caribbean continues to grow. Haiti and the Dominican Republic have reported 129,145 confirmed and suspected cases of chikungunya. The French-speaking islands in the Antilles are reporting 86,216 illnesses with Martinique and Guadeloupe affected the worst.
International data for the chikungunya outbreak in the Western Hemisphere is found in weekly reports from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The ECDC has received reports from the region of 179,234 confirmed and suspected chikungunya cases through June 19 along with 19 chikungunya-related deaths. The PAHO data is through June 20 and they have 188,437 confirmed and suspected illnesses in their report. The PAHO has 21 chikungunya-related deaths.
Brazilian troops assigned to the MINUSTAH force in Haiti have returned to their country and brought several imported cases of chikungunya with them. Peru is reporting imported cases. El Salvador is experiencing an outbreak that their public health officials believe is chikungunya but it has not been confirmed with testing at this time. They are reporting over 1,100 illnesses.
Chikungunya is a viral illness that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. In the Western Hemisphere, the strain of chikungunya that is spreading is carried by the Aedes aegypti or Yellow Fever mosquito. The illness can only be spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is not contagious human to human. The Yellow Fever mosquito is very common in the tropics and sub-tropics but has a limited habitat in the United States.