Rio de Janeiro reports 300 percent increase in chikungunya

By NewsDesk @bactiman63

The city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has reported a dramatic increase in chikungunya cases in 2019 during the first 11 months of 2019.

To date, 37,973 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the city. This compares to 9,545 cases reported during 2018, a nearly 300 percent increase.

The city’s West Zone accounted for half the cases.

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain, which is often debilitating. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash.

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The disease shares some clinical signs with dengue and Zika, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where they are common. As there is no cure, treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.