PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago, August 25, 2014 (AMG) — The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has confirmed that the number of reported Chikungunya cases in the Caribbean continues to increase steadily.
At press time today there were 7,493 confirmed or probable cases of the disease and a further 576, 811 suspected cases, accounting for 37 deaths in the selected countries and territories below:
| Country/Territory | *Week | Confirmed cases | Suspect cases | Deaths |
| Anguilla | 31 | 40 | N/A | 0 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 20 | 4 | N/A | 0 |
| Aruba | 34 | 16 | 55 | 0 |
| Bahamas | 31 | 17 | N/A | 0 |
| Barbados | 32 | 13 | 67 | 0 |
| British Virgin Islands | 19 | 20 | N/A | 0 |
| Cayman Islands | 30 | 4 | N/A | 0 |
| Cuba | 33 | 13 | N/A | 0 |
| Curacao | 34 | 21 | 23 | 0 |
| Dominica | 28 | 141 | 3,559 | 0 |
| Dominican Republic | 33 | 71 | 370,141 | 6 |
| French Guiana | 32 | 1,665 | N/A | 0 |
| Grenada | 26 | 5 | N/A | 0 |
| Guadeloupe | 32 | 1,328 | 73,120 | 9# |
| Guyana | 31 | 76 | N/A | 0 |
| Haiti | 28 | 14 | 64,695 | 0 |
| Jamaica | 33 | 8 | N/A | 0 |
| Martinique | 32 | 1,515 | 55,920 | 19## |
| Puerto Rico*** | 30 | 1,012 | 3,723 | 0 |
| Sint Maarten** | 24 | 360 | N/A | 0 |
| St. Barthelemy | 32 | 142 | 860 | 0 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | 21 | 28 | 31 | 0 |
| St. Lucia | 23 | 30 | 214 | 0 |
| St. Martin | 32 | 793 | 3,860 | 3### |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 23 | 67 | 329 | 0 |
| Suriname | 32 | 41 | N/A | 0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 31 | 5 | N/A | 0 |
| Turks and CaicosIslands | 28 | 17 | N/A | 0 |
| US Virgin Islands | 33 | 27 | 214 | 0 |
|
TOTAL |
7,493 | 576,811 | 37 |
French Guiana, Martinque, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico lead in the number of confirmed cases at over 1,000 incidences of infection, while Dominica, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines lead in the CARICOM region.
The island of Hispaniola – comprising the Dominican Republic and Haiti – accounts for over 433,000 suspected cases of the disease, with 370,141 in the Dominican Republic alone.
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease spread primarily in the Caribbean by the Aedes Egypti mosquito, which also transmits Dengue Fever. The disease is characterized by a sudden onset of fever which is frequently accompanied by joint pain. Other common signs and symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. The joint pain is often very debilitating, but usually lasts for a few days or may be prolonged to weeks.
[tw-accordion class=””] [tw-accordion-section title=”Case defintions”] Suspected case: A patient with acute onset of fever > 38.5⁰C and severe arthralgia or arthritis not explained by other medical conditions, and who resides or has visited epidemic or endemic areas within 2 weeks prior to the onset of symptomsProbable case: A suspected case with a positive result for Chikungunya by IgM ELISA
Confirmed case: A suspected case with a positive result for Chikungunya by viral isolation, RT-PCR or 4-fold increase in Chikungunya virus specific antibody titres (samples collected at least 2 to 3 weeks apart)
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[tw-accordion-section title=”Key”]
N/A– data not available
*Epidemiological week for which information is available
**As published by the Chikungunya surveillance overview Dutch Caribbean Islands 1 Oct 2013–11 June 2014 (Week 24)
***Department of Health data
#7 deaths at hospital with 6 indirectly related to chikungunya
## 19 in-hospital deaths indirectly related to chikungunya
###3 in-hospital deaths indirectly related to chikungunya
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Data collected by the Caribbean Public Health Agency. Reformatting and write-up by AMG Health Desk.
