Chikungunya hits Situbondo

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