Chikun gunya

Chikungunya also known Chicken Guinea is a kind of viral fever caused by alpha virus
which is called Chikungunya Virus or Chicken Guinea virus. Chikungunya got its name from the
Makonde word which develops in Chikungunya victims as a result of Chikungunya symptom like
arthritis.

The disease is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which are active only during the day time. These mosquitoes lay their eggs is fresh water only. Its been over six months since the Chikungunya fever outbreak was found in India. In India, the disease first started in Tamil Nadu, South India and gradually spread to the North.

Symptoms:

Chikungunya (Chicken Guinea) is not a fatal disease, but if the affected person has other
complications, the Chikungunya disease symptoms may aggravate and may result in complications and may even pose threat to life.

The main symptoms include severe temperature, body pain, pain in all the major joints with swelling, due to arthritis affecting multiple joints. In some cases, skin rashes, severe headache and conjunctival infection can also be found. Usually the body temperature or Chikungunya fever will be completely normal within 2 to 3 days, but the joint pain and swellings will last longer, usually 7 days to even 2 to 3 months.

Prevention:

The best way to avoid CHIKV infection is to prevent mosquito bites. Infected persons should
be isolated from further mosquito exposure in order to avoid transmission of infection to other
people. Stagnating water, a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, is the main cause for the scattering of the disease. Preventive measures for controlling proliferation of mosquitoes are eliminating stagnant water, getting rid of containers like food cans, used tyres, buckets, barrels etc which will retain water in the outdoor surroundings, covering water tanks properly etc.

Other precautions

• wear long sleeved clothes that will cover arms and legs for for protection against mosquitoes
• use mosquito repellent products or nets
• use insect repellents over the exposed parts of the body
• secure screens on windows and doors