OTTAWA, Canada (CMC) – Canada’s health agency says more than 200 Canadians have been infected by the chikungunya virus that has affected thousands of people in the Caribbean.
On Tuesday, Health Canada reported that 201 Canadians have been infected with the mosquito borne virus.
Eric Morrissette, a spokesman for Health Canada, said the cases have been confirmed among travelers returning from endemic areas in 2014.
“A very significant rise in infections by this virus has occurred in 2014, which is consistent with the large outbreak in the Caribbean region and ongoing activity in the Asia-Pacific area.”
He said the majority of the Canadian cases stem from travel to Caribbean, adding that there is no evidence of local transmission in Canada, since the specie of mosquito that transmits the virus is not native to the country.
The first case of the disease in the Western Hemisphere was documented on St Martin last December.
Chikungunya has been present in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region for decades.
Almost 800,000 people have been infected in the Caribbean, the majority of them in the Dominican Republic.
The Public Health Agency of Canada urged travelers to consult a health-care provider, or visit a travel-health clinic, at least six weeks before going to the Caribbean.
Its mosquito borne because I didn’t travel yet I caught it simple by getting sneezed on
not surprised
*its not
Sender the title is a very misleading.
Laaks, and one a mi co-workers when well sick enuh. Dem betta contain dis ting caw wi nuh know how di flu season setup yet and dis ting deh yah. I a gwan boost mi immune system.
I was in Jamaica for nearly 2 weeks and I didn’t get it and I was bit by mosquitoes. My husband is still in JA and he did not get it and he was also bit by mosquitoes. Call me crazy but I think it could be water borne