OTTAWA, Canada, Monday August 18, 2014, CMC – Canada has warned travelers to the Caribbean to protect themselves from mosquito bites as the spread of the Chikungunya disease continues across the region.
“Consult a health care provider or visit a travel health clinic at least six weeks before you travel,” said the Public Health Agency of Canada in its latest travel update on the virus.
The agency warned that transmission of the virus has also spread to countries in Central and South America and the United States.
It also said several other countries have reported cases in individuals who have travelled to some of these affected areas.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in its most recent update, says the number of new cases of the Chikungunya virus in the Caribbean increased by nearly 38,000 with the Dominican Republic having the highest number of suspected cases.
According to the latest PAHO report dated August 14, the total number of suspected cases in the Caribbean stood at 580,526 with 5,272 confirmed. PAHO said 37 of these cases resulted in deaths.
