Mosquito-borne virus spreading in Caribbean – Post

James Gathany

Caribbean Mosquito Vi_Piet.jpg

FILE – This 2006 file photo made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito acquiring a blood meal from a human host at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. A mosquito-borne virus appears to be spreading quickly in the Caribbean just weeks after epidemiologists first found local transmission occurring in St. Martin. The virus then spread to neighboring Dutch St. Maarten, and the U.S. CDC says new cases have also been confirmed in the French Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Barthelemy. The British Virgin Islands reported three cases Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, James Gathany, File)

Posted: Friday, January 17, 2014 11:55 am
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Updated: 11:55 am, Fri Jan 17, 2014.

Mosquito-borne virus spreading in Caribbean

Associated Press |

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A mosquito-borne virus appears to be spreading quickly in the Caribbean during the winter tourism season just weeks after epidemiologists first found local transmission occurring in the French dependency of St. Martin.

Scientists said Tuesday that St. Martin now has as many as 200 cases of chikungunya, a virus found mainly in Africa and Asia that can cause a debilitating but rarely fatal sickness with fever, rash, fatigue and intense muscle and joint pain.

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Friday, January 17, 2014 11:55 am.