Chikungunya hits Situbondo

SITUBONDO, East Java: More than 100 Situbondo residents have contracted Chikungunya disease, which is similar to dengue fever but not fatal, in the past two weeks, following a similar outbreak in other parts of the country, including Yogyakarta and West Java.

The disease has struck Suboh, Mlandingan and Besuki districts, where 80, 48 and seven residents respectively have been diagnosed with the disease.

Ribut Djunaidi, the head of the Situbondo regency health office, said that regency officials had fumigated places suspected of being breeding grounds for Aedes Albopticus mosquito, which is a carrier of the Chikungunya virus.

Chikungunya is contracted through a mosquito bite and is characterized by an extremely high fever and severe joint pain (arthralgia) that last up to a week. -- Antara