India has reported a marked increase in the number of people falling victim to a debilitating disease called Chikungunya.
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus. Symptoms include the sudden onset of fever two to four days after exposure. The fever usually lasts two to seven days, while accompanying joint pains typically last weeks or months but sometimes years. The risk of death is a little less than 1 in 1,000; the elderly or those with underlying chronic medical problems are most likely to have severe complications.
India has already had more than 14,656 suspected cases of Chikungunya this year, roughly half the total number in 2015, according to India’s National Vector Borne Diseases Control Program.
India’s health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda held an emergency meeting Wednesday to review the country’s preparedness to deal with the outbreak.
Chikungunya can circulate with the help of monkeys, birds and cattle, but dengue spreads only through mosquitoes. While for dengue the symptoms subside in about 15 days, for Chikungunya the symptoms can prolong for 3-6 months. While Chikungunya’s main symptoms are high fever and excruciating joint pain, dengue manifests with high fever, drop in platelet count and rash.

What are the symptoms?
Abrupt onset of fever and severe joint pain. There can be other symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash – that is, small red spots all over the body. The joint pain can be severe and sometimes prolonged. The disease does not induce immunity by itself and can recur.
The word Chikungunya, derived from the Kimakonde language which is spoken by the indigenous people of southern Tanzania, itself means that which is contorted. It refers to the contorted position taken by people when they are affected by joint pain. It is transferred from human to human by mosquitoes.
What is the treatment?
There is no vaccine for chikungunya. Treatment is mainly symptomatic – such as giving painkillers to relieve the joint pain – using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are not asprin-based. Drugs are mainly analgesics and antipyretics. The patient is advised to take fluids.
Avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. Keep the surroundings clear of stagnant water or pools where mosquitoes can breed. Use mosquito nets and close windows in the evening to prevent mosquitoes from entering..
Recently ,Hospitals in the national capital are bursting at the seams, as a large number of people are visiting vector-borne fever clinics daily, with AIIMS itself confirming nearly 200 blood test samples for chikungunya per week.
At least 15 people have died due to chikungunya and 18 have succumbed to dengue this season Over 1,700 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the national capital while dengue has affected more than 1,100 people.
According to a municipal report, 432 chikungunya cases have been diagnosed in the national capital this year till August 27.However, experts said the number could be actually much higher. Meanwhile, 487 cases of dengue have so far been reported in the national capital this season, with 368 of them being recorded in August.
Chikangunia attacks found mostly in Delhi, NCR, Haryana, U.P. Karnataka,Karnataka recorded 64% of Chikungunya cases in India in 2016, no deaths reported.
Grappling with the rising cases of dengue and chikungunya in the city, the Delhi government today said that all hospitals and fever clinics will remain open on Sundays even as it appealed to people not to panic. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said a mass awareness campaign is being launched across the city on Sunday under which people have been asked to devote at least 30 minutes to check if there were stagnant water in their residential complexes and around it, to prevent mosquito-breeding.

Prevention is better than cure . Fight together against this disease and stay healthy

  Chikangunia, dengue