New York health officials have confirmed the first case of locally acquired chikungunya virus in the state and the first in the country in more than five years.
Laboratory testing detected the case in Nassau County on Long Island, the New York State Department of Health said Tuesday.
New York Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said the source of the patient’s exposure isn’t known. The department said it was likely transmitted by a mosquito bite.
“Given the much colder nighttime temperatures, the current risk in New York is very low,” he said. “We urge everyone to take simple precautions to protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites.”
This is the fourth case of chikungunya detected in humans in New York this year, though the others were acquired while the infected was traveling. There has been an uptick of cases of the virus in Britain and China.
Chikungunya virus cannot be transmitted directly from person to person. Transmission happens when a mosquito bites an infected person — in this case likely a person who picked up the virus while traveling to tropical or subtropical areas — and then bites another person, infecting them.
Routine testing of the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which transmits chikungunya, has not detected the virus in any samples in New York, the health department said.
Symptoms of chikungunya virus include fever, joint and muscle pain, headache, joint swelling, and/or rash. The virus typically isn’t fatal, but those at higher risk for a more serious illness include newborns, adults over the age of 65, and those with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
