The hospital Clínic detects eight cases of chikungunya in the last month

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The patients infected, resident in the zone of Barcelona, the Vallès Western and Tarragonès, add to the three cases, also imported, that diagnosed the past week in the regions of the Maresme and The Jungle. The Generalitat launched the past Friday an alert epidemiológica in front of the danger that it extend the ailment by the Catalan territory, as one of the vectors of transmission is the mosquito tiger, present in tens of municipalities.

“From the month of May have diagnosed more cases that in the last four or five years”, explains the doctor Joaquim Gascón, boss of Tropical Medicine of the Clínic and researcher of Institute of Global Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal). The doctor justifies this increase “by the big epidemic of this virus in countries of the Caribbean, like Haiti or Dominican Republic”. The 11 patients with chikungunya that have registered in total in the last month infected during his trips to several countries of Latin America.

Gascón warns that “the forecast is that the cases go in increase” during the summer, since a lot of Catalans will go on holiday to zones of the Caribbean where the cases of chikungunya already counts by thousands. When treating of an illness that still is not of compulsory statement (illnesses transmisibles that the doctors are obliged to notify to the authorities of public health for being of particular importance for the community),neither the Generalitat neither the Ministry of Health have of a specific register of cases of chikungunya. According to the Catalan Government, among 2010 and 2013 contabilizaron eight cases.

The illness, discovered in Tanzania in 1952, transmits by the sting of the mosquito of the yellow fever (Aedes aegypti) and of the mosquito tiger (Aedes albopictus). Although the first is confined in tropical zones, already has detected the presence of the tiger in numerous zones of Europe, among them, Catalonia. If this insect hammers to some people infected with chikungunya, purchases the virus and can propagate the illness in each sting.

“It is necessary to diminish the vectorial density. It is necessary to take the necessary measures so that the mosquitos have difficult to reproduce”, signals the researcher of the ISGlobal, a centre of reference in tropical illnesses. The mosquito tiger no precise big quantities of water to breed ; a small puddle of water stagnated is sufficient to favour the child. “We have deployed all the protocols of surveillance epidemiólogica. We have created a videocápsula for concienciar to the people that goes of trip, that take care of the stings and if, when going back have fever or other symptoms, that attend to the doctor. The professionals are warned and also the city councils, from the control of plagues, control the zones where there is tall densities of mosquitos”, aims Mireia Jané, general deputy director of surveillance and response to emergencies of Salut Public of the Generalitat.

The period of incubation of chikungunya is of four to 12 days from the sting of the mosquito infected. The experts warn that it is not a mortal ailment, but yes very annoying because the aches in the articulations can prolong several weeks and even months. The acute phase, with strong headaches and unrest generalised, hard some five days.

News: http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2014/06/17/catalunya/1403030441_315788.html