Sunday, May 24, 2015

Chikungunya

You might be thinking, "What is chikungunya?".  Is it the name of the last great Mayan emperor?  A river in the Yukon?  What I had for dinner last night?  No, none of the above.

(Note: the information that I have here is what I have derived from multiple sources.  It should be close to factually correct, but I'll admit that there may be errors, especially in the statistics.)

Chikungunya is a mosquito-transmitted disease recently introduced to Ecuador.  It has similar symptoms to dengue, but it is a completely separate ailment.  It has an incubation period of 2-7 days, after which the following symptoms occur (these can occur from five days to a couple of months):

  • Body fever ranging from 102-104 degrees
  • General fatigue, especially dystrophic muscular weakness
  • Sore and aching joints, causing limited mobility

These are similar to dengue, but there are two important distinctions between the two:

  • From what I've heard, dengue involves extreme joint pain to the point where standing in one place is the only position where a victim feels any comfort.  (There's a reason why it's nicknamed "bone-break disease".)
  • Unlike dengue, once the fever and aches start to fade from chikungunya (and it seems as though recovery is on it's way), a very itchy body rash breaks out.  Benadryl, Sangre de Drago (Dragon's Blood) and calamine lotion can help to relieve the itching, but it does need to run it's course.

Note: if you think you have been exposed to either dengue or chikungunya, see a doctor.  The symptoms are similar, but the treatments/medicines are very different.

Until recently, chikungunya had been contained in Africa.  In the last couple of months, though, one of the four strains of the disease was introduced to the western hemisphere.  Here are the latest statistics regarding infection that I have heard:

  • 12,000 cases in Ecuador, with two fatalies
  • 140,000 cases in Peru
  • 270,000 cases in Colombia

Until recently, all cases in the United States had come from visitors to South American/Caribbean countries where the incubation period completed once the victim had returned home.  However, the CDC has reported at least one case of the disease originating in the US (in Mississippi).

If there is a plus side from suffering through chikungunya, it's this: it's rarely fatal, and, once cured, a lifetime immunity is developed.

If you're reading this blog from outside of Ecuador (especially outside the Manabi province), you might be thinking, (like the van scene in "Die Hard with a Vengeance"), "That is an excellent presentation, fellas.  What does it have to do with me?".

Here in Puerto Lopez, many expats that I know have been afflicted.  Most cases, including the rash,  run their course in two-three weeks.

What can be done?

First is personal protection.  Emily and I (who have been spared up until this point) always prepare ourselves before going outside.  Every afternoon (and before going into town), we "bug up": long pants, burning mosquito coils and lots of Detan (DEET) lotion to any exposed skin.

Second is mosquito eradication.  In town here, entire families have been infected (many houses here don't have windows, let alone screens), and there has been an outcry for the city to do something.

Last week, the first response was for the city to send out a message to the city to remove any standing water.  Like most public announcements, this was carried out by using a Blues Brothers-type loudspeaker on top of a truck, repeating the announcement as it drove from barrio (neighborhood) to barrio.

Last Friday, after increased public protesting, spraying finally took place.  A tanqueria (tank truck) drove through the neighborhoods spraying what we think was malathion.

The problem should fade as the wet season typically ends at the end of May and the dry season begins in June.  Until then, Bug Up!