Mosquito-borne chikungunya fever may be in Tennessee

A disease that just emerged in the Americas may have made its way to Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Health said Tuesday it is investigating the first potential cases of chikungunya virus in the state. It is a mosquito-borne disease that is circulating in the Caribbean. Tennesseans who traveled there are showing symptoms of the disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning in December about chikungunya when it was first reported detected on Caribbean islands — the first confirmed cases of the virus being contracted in the Americas.

“This is often a terribly painful and uncomfortable illness with no vaccine to prevent it and no specific treatment for those infected,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. John Dreyzehner. “Recovery can be prolonged, so prevention is the only good option.”

Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, rash and joint pain.

Dr. James Crowe Jr., a Vanderbilt University professor and member of the Chikungunya Task Force Global Virus Network, said the disease is likely to become endemic here just as West Nile virus has and could establish a foothold in the United States in the next year.

“It’s just a matter of when, not if it will,” Crowe said.

The disease gets its name from an African language and, roughly translated, means “bent over in pain,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.

“The acute phase of the illness is relatively brief,” Schaffner said. “It is less than a week, usually three or four days. But those are three or four very uncomfortable days. Then about 10 percent to 15 percent of people have persistent joint aches and pains that can come and go for months thereafter.”

The disease is not usually fatal.

“Chikungunya is spread by Aedes species mosquitoes, which feed during the day and are found in abundance in Tennessee,” said Abelardo Moncayo, director of the state Health Department’s vector-borne diseases program. “It is imperative that individuals experiencing symptoms of chikungunya virus minimize their exposure to mosquitoes to reduce the risk of local transmission. A mosquito can pick up the virus from an infected human and infect others.”

People can protect themselves by wearing insect repellent and loose, long-sleeved shirts and pants. They should also drain standing water in containers around their homes.

Reach Tom Wilemon at 615-726-5961 and on Twitter @TomWilemon.