Chikungunya virus outbreak in Sint Maarten, 2013-2014.

This report describes the outbreak of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Sint Maarten, a constituent country of Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the southern part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, from 22 December 2013 (first reported case) through 5 December 2014. The outbreak was first reported by the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin in the northern part of the island-the first site in the Americas to report autochthonous transmission of CHIKV. By 5 December 2014, Sint Maarten had reported a total of 658 cases-an overall attack rate of 1.76%. Actual prevalence may have been higher, as some cases may have been misdiagnosed as dengue. Fever and arthralgia affected 71% and 69% of reported cases respectively. Of the 390 laboratory-confirmed cases, 61% were female and the majority were 20-59 years old (mean: 42; range: 4-92). The spread of CHIKV to Sint Maarten was inevitable given the ease of movement of people, and the vector, island-wide. Continuing their history of collaboration, the French and Dutch parts of the island coordinated efforts for prevention and control of the disease. These included a formal agreement to exchange epidemiological information on a regular basis and provide alerts in a timely manner; collaboration among personnel through joint island-wide planning of mosquito control activities, especially along borders; notification of all island visitors, upon their arrival at airports and seaports, of preventative measures to avoid being bitte...
Source: Pan American Journal of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Rev Panam Salud Publica Source Type: research