Via Agencia Brasil: Virus chikungunya fever begins to circulate in Rio de Janeiro. Edited excerpt from the Google translation:
The Rio de Janeiro State Department of Health confirmed today (22) the circulation of the virus that causes chikungunya fever in the state. More details on the case are to be disclosed in the weekly epidemiological bulletin, scheduled for tomorrow (23).
According to the health surveillance Undersecretary Alexander Chieppe, the case was detected in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro and an epidemiological investigation was made. The person who contracted the virus is doing well and has recovered, he said.
The patient had strong joint pain and did tests for dengue. The negative results for the disease led to the suspected chikungunya.
Previous cases of chikungunya confirmed in Rio de Janeiro were reported in people who had traveled to regions where there is virus circulation, such as the state of Bahia.
The state Secretary of Health, Felipe Peixoto, said the case is a warning for the government. He noted that although the virus does not have the same lethality that dengue fever, its symptoms can last for up to a year.
This morning (22) the state government handed over 170 cars to 91 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro to fight Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits the Zika virus, chikungunya fever and dengue. At the ceremony, the Secretary pointed out that the Zika virus is proving to be "the greatest public health challenge in the coming decades."
