Chikungunya Virus: A growing threat

Aedes Mosquito (Muhammad Mahdi Karim)

There seems to be an increased threat from the Chikungunya virus as it has spread to more locations:

June 23, 2014

JACKSON, MS (AP) –

The Mississippi State Department of Health is investigating its first potential case of chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne illness traditionally found in Africa and Asia.

Health officials said the illness has shown up in a Mississippi resident who recently returned from Haiti. However, one of the mosquito species that carries the virus is prevalent in Brazil.

Symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pain and joint swelling. Deaths are rare, but officials added anyone with a compromised immune system is at a higher risk of complications from the infection. http://www.wafb.com/story/25843005/health-officials-investigate-chikungunya-virus

Health officials are reporting a rise in U.S. cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus…

However, the virus is now widespread in the Caribbean and it’s likely only a matter of time before it is found in mosquitoes in the United States, possibly as early as this summer, according to the CDC.

Chikungunya — which triggers a very painful but seldom fatal illness — is already common in central and southern Africa, southern Asia and has recently spread to 17 countries in the Caribbean, the CDC noted. Cases have also been reported in Italy and France.

The virus has been reported as close to the U.S. mainland as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Staples noted. “So there is transmission of the virus between people and mosquitoes going on right now in both those locations,” she said. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mosquito-borne-virus-plaguing-caribbean-may-be-headed-for-u-s/

A mosquito-borne disease that causes fever and severe joint pain has arrived in Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Public Health on Thursday confirmed the state’s first human case of chikungunya this year. The patient was infected during a recent trip to a Caribbean nation, state officials said.

Aedes mosquitoes transmit chikungunya virus to people.

The state did not identify the name or location of the patient due to privacy concerns.

It’s not the first Georgia case of chikungunya, which is spread through mosquito bites. But it’s the first associated with a widespread Caribbean outbreak that began in December, said Cherie Drenzek, the state epidemiologist for Public Health.

Chikungunya disease does not often result in death, but its symptoms can be severe and disabling, officials said.

The CDC has reported more than 60 confirmed cases of chikungunya in the United States so far, and that number is growing. http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2014/jun/19/mosquito-borne-disease-arrives-in-georgia/

I first warned about the potential threat from this virus back on 2009 (see Chikungunya Virus: The Next Pestilence?).

Here is some of what the CDC says about it:

Chikungunya (pronunciation: \chik-en-gun-ye click to hear pronunciation ) virus is transmitted to people by mosquitoes. The most common symptoms of chikungunya virus infection are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash. Outbreaks have occurred in countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In late 2013, chikungunya virus was found for the first time in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean… There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat chikungunya virus infection. http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/

Jesus warned that the “signs” of the end of the age would be include pestilences

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8)

The Chikungunya virus is certainly a type of pestilence and we will see how it develops.

There are many risks these days.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues?
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2014, 2015, or 2016? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2013 o 2014? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Blood Moons and Prophecy There are four ‘blood moons’ expected in 2014 and 2015. Do they signal the Day of the Lord or the return of Jesus Christ? A related YouTube video is also available: Blood Moons, Prophecy, 2014, and 2015.