Latest update January 18th, 2025 7:00 AM
Symptoms of Chikungunya Virus could last for years – CARPHA Director
– PAHO Director emphasises need for public awareness
Three years from now a fair percentage of persons who have been inflicted with the Chikungunya Virus are likely to
CARPHA Director,
Dr James Hospedales
be still subjected to symptoms of the condition on a periodical basis. This assertion was recently made by Director of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Dr James Hospedales, during an interview with this publication.
While the symptoms of the mosquito-borne virus include rash, high fever, nausea and/or vomiting, headache, muscles and joint pains, Dr Hospedales disclosed that one of the most pronounced symptoms likely to remain over time is that of the joint pains.
Moreover, he noted that although the virus started plaguing a number of Caricom territories about six months ago, with Guyana, Trinidad, Haiti and the Dominican Republic being infected more recently, it is expected that the health sectors of these territories will still be battling to combat the virus in a few years.
There have been reports from a number of persons who have been infected with the virus that after recovering from the symptoms, most within days, that the symptoms resume their manifestations. This therefore resulted in persons concluding that they were re-infected with the virus, a state of affairs that contradicts statements out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that once persons recover they will in essence develop life-long immunity from the virus.
But according to Dr Hospedales, while immunity is developed, the virus could have protracted effects.
“A very common feature that we have been seeing is that persons get ill, they get joint pains and other symptoms then they start to feel a bit better; and then it comes back and with the severe joint pains and that is part of the challenge with this virus,” added the CARPHA Director.
The long-term joint pains, he noted, can be classified as chronic arthritis even as he intimated that such developments could prove to be rather depressing to some persons.
“At least 15, 20 or 25 per cent of the people (infected with the virus) will two, three years later still have chronic joint problems that might have a lot of people thinking it has come back, but it is just this chronic manifestation.”
PAHO Director,
Dr Carissa Etienne
He however, noted that the other possibilities could be that persons have developed other conditions such as dengue fever which has similar symptoms to the Chikungunya virus. Among the other conditions with similarities, said Dr Hospedales are “leptospirosis, the flu or something else, because there are other conditions that have some similar features such as fever and body ache.”
It is however the conviction of the CARPHA Director that the Caribbean will have to brace for the “full impact” of the virus, even as he pointed out that within the last six months an estimated 600,000 cases have been reported, with 9,000 of these being confirmed. He disclosed too that there have been 37 associated deaths reported thus far.
But while Governments, through the health sectors, have a responsibility to combat the virus,
Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr Carissa Etienne, noted that complete reliance on Governments to do everything is a notion that is wrongly placed. She pointed to the need for individuals to assist the fight against the virus by helping to determine what in their environments is helping to facilitate the breeding of mosquitoes and aid in the removal of breeding sites.
According to Dr Etienne, while she is unaware of all the Government of Guyana has been doing to tackle the virus, she is optimistic that the health sector has been embracing guidelines set out by PAHO/WHO.
“I don’t think I know all of what the Government has been doing with regards to Chikungunya…but I know that the guidelines they have are effective,” said the PAHO Director.
She went on to emphasise, too, the importance of disseminating information to the public about the virus.
“There must be a widespread education and communication component so that people recognise what the symptoms are and how they can prevent the spread and transmission,” Dr Etienne asserted.
There are some, including A Partnership for National Unity’s Shadow Minister of Health, Dr George Norton, who have opined that the Ministry of Health’s level of information dissemination is currently very limited and more should be done to tackle the widespread impact of the virus.
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