Chikungunya was spotted on St. Martin in December 2013 and quickly spread across the islands. Although common in Asia, it was the first time the painful disease was detected in the Western Hemisphere. Now, experts say, it’s here to stay and has become an important issue for governments in tourism-heavy countries to tackle.

“Now I’d say about 40 percent of the ­people I know have gotten it,” Mr. Abromovitz said. “If you are going on vacation, I would recommend using DEET as opposed to taking your chances. Even if you’re only staying a week, I think you would have a chance of getting chikungunya.”

He recovered completely within two weeks, but saw co-workers affected more seriously.

First discovered in Tanzania in 1952, the disease has a name that means “that which bends up” in the Kimakonde language of Mozambique. It has sickened people in more than three dozen countries, including popular tourist destinations such as Martinique and the Dominican Republic. Some of the smaller islands, such as Guadeloupe and St. Barthélemy, were hit particularly hard, a sign that those nations may be over the peak.

Nearly 1,500 travelers to the region, often people visiting their families in the Caribbean, brought the disease back to the United States this year, according to the C.D.C. Before the Caribbean epidemic, the United States saw only about 30 cases a year, and those were usually people returning from Asia. After nearly 300 people in Florida brought the disease home this year, the state wound up with 11 locally transmitted cases — a first for the United States.

The C.D.C. has issued a “watch” alert for the Caribbean, which means tourists should take normal precautions.