Alex Tisdale 
There is in an outbreak on East African island/ Photo by Stijn Dijkstra on Pexel
As winter seasons are ending and spring is around the corner, people are looking for destination spots for their summer vacation. However, those travel plans may be threatened by recent events and a mosquito-borne virus outbreak.
Just recently, the US issued a travel warning for people planning to visit the Seychelles in East Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a level two travel advisory for the island due to the Chikungunya virus, which could cause severe joint pain and fever.
The CDC issued a level 2 advisory urging US travelers to “practice enhanced precautions” when visiting the island. The virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, especially by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
The Cleveland Clinic says that Chikungunya (CHIKV) occurs when a mosquito that has already contracted the virus bites a person. The virus itself can’t be spread through bodily contact or saliva, but it can be spread through blood transfusion.
CHIKV comes from the term “bent over,” highlighting the symptoms that come from the infection. Other symptoms include muscle pain, swelling, rashes, fatigue, nausea, and headaches.
As of right now, there’s no active medication to treat CHIKV, however, there is a vaccine to prevent the disease. According to the Cleveland clinic the average virus recovery takes about one week, the joint pain that comes from it may be long lasting.
With a level two advisory, travelers can still visit the island, but with cautions in place because it’s not as worrisome as a level four advisory, meaning that travelers couldn’t visit the island at all.
Other ways to combat CHIKV besides vaccination include using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants, and staying in cool places with air conditioning that have screens on windows and doors.
Despite the level two warning, the CDC recommends that pregnant women reconsider traveling to the African island altogether due to the potential of “passing the virus to their baby or during delivery.”
“People at risk for more severe disease include newborns, infected around the time of birth, older adults, and people with medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease,” the CDC says. “Death from Chikungunya is rare.”
Seychelles is it the only island that has a level two advisory for travel, other islands include Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Cuba, and Suriname due to the outbreak. Some level two advisories being issued just last year.
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