Caution urged on mosquito-borne illness that can deform joints

Selasa, 02 Oktober 2012 13:01

(TOKYO-Kyodo) The National Institute of Infectious Diseases is calling on the public to be on guard against a mosquito-borne illness that can permanently deform sufferers' joints following the recent confirmation in Japan of four patients in June and July.

The disease, Chikungunya fever, mainly prevalent in Asia and Africa, develops symptoms in humans including fever and joint inflammation after 2-12 days after they are bitten by mosquito. The mortality rate is known to be low but causes joint pain for several months that could result in deformed joints.

The four detected with the virus that causes the illness have a history of traveling overseas such as Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, according to the institute.

Such a high incidence rate this year over a short period of time is considered rare, given only about 30 cases of infection have been reported since 2006.

The disease can be transmitted by Asian tiger mosquito, a mosquito variety found across the country except the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

The institute says the mosquito poses a danger of spreading the disease within Japan, although infection cases found in the country so far concern travelers who most likely caught it overseas.

"If more and more people contract it, mosquitoes could proliferate the virus," said an official at the institute. "Though no signs have been detected that it is spreading domestically, we hope people will visit health-care institutions promptly if they notice suspicious symptoms."