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Lyon County Resident 8th Chikungunya Case in Kansas This Year

wikipedia.org

A Lyon County resident has been diagnosed with a mosquito-borne disease that had never been seen in the Western Hemisphere before 2013. As Heartland Health Monitor’s Bryan Thompson reports, the patient is believed to have been bitten by an infected mosquito while traveling in Central America.

The virus is called chikungunya. Health officials are concerned that the virus could become established in mosquito populations here. But Renee Hively, of the Flint Hills Community Health Center, in Emporia, doesn’t think there’s much risk that mosquitoes could transfer chikungunya from this patient to others.

“Theoretically, I think by the time you find out that you have chikungunya virus you’ve already passed your infectious state,” Hively says.

The name “chikungunya” comes from a word in an African tribal language that means “to become contorted”. It describes a person whose joint pain is so severe, he or she can’t even stand up straight. Hively says it’s rarely fatal.

“It can be serious, but most cases people just experience fever, some joint pain, swelling, headache, muscle pain, some rash even,” Hively says.

This is the 8th case of chikungunya in Kansas this year.