US health officials have issued travel advisories for Americans planning trips to certain tropical countries amid outbreaks of an untreatable mosquito-borne disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that it has issued Level 2 travel advisories for Cuba, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Guangdong Province in southern China, advising Americans to “practice enhanced precautions” when visiting these areas.
Health officials say there are currently no treatments for chikungunya, however the disease is vaccine-preventable, and vaccination is really helpful for travelers to affected areas.
Essentially the most common symptoms of the virus include fever and joint pain, though patients might also experience headache, muscle pain, joint swelling or a rash, in response to health officials.
Symptoms typically appear three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, and most of the people get well inside per week.
In severe cases, some may experience severe joint pain lasting months and even years while others “may require hospitalization due to the risk of organ damage and death,” in response to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In keeping with an Oct. 3 notice from WHO, there have been 445,000 suspected and confirmed cases of chikungunya and 155 deaths worldwide between January and September 2025.
In Bangladesh, WHO reported 700 suspected chikungunya cases within the capital, Dhaka, between January and September 2025, citing the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
As of late September, a complete of 16,000 locally transmitted chikungunya cases have been confirmed in Guangdong Province, China, marking the biggest documented outbreak of the disease within the country so far.
Between January and late September, 34 confirmed cases of chikungunya were reported in Cuba, and public health interventions have been implemented to contain the outbreak.
In Sri Lanka, a complete of 150 confirmed chikungunya cases were reported between Jan. 1 and the second week of March 2025, WHO said, adding that cases reportedly peaked in June.
The CDC warned that Americans traveling to Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand might also face an increased risk of chikungunya infection, even when no outbreak is currently reported.
The US has not seen any locally acquired chikungunya cases in its states or territories since 2019.
US health officials have issued travel advisories for Americans planning trips to certain tropical countries amid outbreaks of an untreatable mosquito-borne disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that it has issued Level 2 travel advisories for Cuba, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Guangdong Province in southern China, advising Americans to “practice enhanced precautions” when visiting these areas.
Health officials say there are currently no treatments for chikungunya, however the disease is vaccine-preventable, and vaccination is really helpful for travelers to affected areas.
Essentially the most common symptoms of the virus include fever and joint pain, though patients might also experience headache, muscle pain, joint swelling or a rash, in response to health officials.
Symptoms typically appear three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, and most of the people get well inside per week.
In severe cases, some may experience severe joint pain lasting months and even years while others “may require hospitalization due to the risk of organ damage and death,” in response to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In keeping with an Oct. 3 notice from WHO, there have been 445,000 suspected and confirmed cases of chikungunya and 155 deaths worldwide between January and September 2025.
In Bangladesh, WHO reported 700 suspected chikungunya cases within the capital, Dhaka, between January and September 2025, citing the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
As of late September, a complete of 16,000 locally transmitted chikungunya cases have been confirmed in Guangdong Province, China, marking the biggest documented outbreak of the disease within the country so far.
Between January and late September, 34 confirmed cases of chikungunya were reported in Cuba, and public health interventions have been implemented to contain the outbreak.
In Sri Lanka, a complete of 150 confirmed chikungunya cases were reported between Jan. 1 and the second week of March 2025, WHO said, adding that cases reportedly peaked in June.
The CDC warned that Americans traveling to Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand might also face an increased risk of chikungunya infection, even when no outbreak is currently reported.
The US has not seen any locally acquired chikungunya cases in its states or territories since 2019.
