THOSE diagnosed with chikungunya fever may not care to know that its name, an East African word, means “that which bends up”, a reference to the contorted posture of sufferers. The pain, felt mostly in the joints, makes chikungunya similar to dengue fever. Although dengue is more lethal, some say chikungunya hurts more and lasts longer.

The disease, which is spread by mosquitoes and is common in Africa and Asia, has now come to the Caribbean. (It probably crossed the ocean in the blood of an infected air traveller.) It was first detected in December on St Martin, and has since spread to 13 other jurisdictions. Caribbean health officials count 3,612 confirmed or probable cases; many thousands more are suspected. The region is facing an epidemic, says James Hospedales, head of the Caribbean Public Health Agency.

The Caribbean has long been susceptible because of its large number of mosquitoes and foreign tourists. The virus looks likely to become entrenched elsewhere, too. It has already hit French Guiana, and is likely to move through South and Central America. There is fear in the southern United States. Dengue is already endemic along the Texas-Mexico border, and this strain of chikungunya is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also deals in dengue and prefers tropical regions.

Dr Hospedales is trying to raise awareness without creating panic. The usual weapons, from repellents to pesticides, are being used to stop the mosquitoes. The bigger concern on the islands is that as the virus spreads, it will create more headlines and tourism will start to suffer.