"5.6 billion people at risk" WHO warns of global chikungunya epidemic - virus is approaching Basel
The World Health Organization warns of a worldwide spread of the Chikungunya virus disease. A recent case in Alsace shows this: Switzerland must also prepare for local infections.
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- The WHO warns of a possible global chikungunya epidemic.
- The virus has already been detected in 119 countries and 5.6 billion people are at risk.
- Chikungunya is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes high fever and severe joint pain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a global epidemic of the mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya. The disease has already been detected in 119 countries, "putting 5.6 billion people at risk", WHO spokeswoman Diana Rojas Alvarez told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday. "We are sounding the alarm early so that countries can prepare in time."
Chikungunya is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease causes high fever and severe joint pain, which can last for weeks to months in many of those affected. Severe cases are rare, but occur particularly in older people or those with severe previous illnesses.
According to Rojas Alvarez, the mortality rate is less than one percent, but "with millions of cases, this one percent can mean thousands of deaths".
Case reported near Basel
In 2004 and 2005, there was already a major epidemic in island states in the Indian Ocean, in which around half a million people fell ill. "Today, the WHO is observing the same pattern", explained the WHO spokesperson. The virus is spreading in the Indian Ocean, but also in Madagascar, Somalia and Kenya, as well as in South Asia.
Imported cases linked to the outbreak on the Indian Ocean islands have also been reported in Europe. "As these transmission patterns were already observed in the outbreak from 2004, the WHO is calling for urgent action to prevent history from repeating itself," said Rojas Alvarez.
Most recently, the Robert Koch Institute reported a case of chikungunya in Alsace - a few kilometers from Basel - where a person was apparently infected directly through the bite of an infected mosquito, i.e. did not bring the disease with them from a trip. The Basel cantonal doctor also expects cases in the Basel region in the future, he told SRF.