Home > News > Specials The Rediff Special/ George Iype FAQ: Is chikungunya fatal?
Related Articles Dengue: Delhi yet to press panic button Delhi: Dengue cases increasing, say doctors Chikungunya strikes Nashik Dengue: Precautions and prevention (external link) In the last three months, a relatively rare form of viral fever known as chikungunya has killed at least 300 people across India. Alappuzha district in central Kerala has been badly hit by the disease. Nearly 60 people have died in the last three weeks in Alappuzha due to high fever, and the deaths are attributed to chikungunya even as health officials have sent hundreds of blood samples to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases for testing. Here is a primer on chikungunya and how can it be combated: What is chikungunya? Chikungunya is a relatively rare form of viral fever transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Typically the Aedes aegypti mosquito (tiger mosquito) spreads the disease. The World Health Organisation says there are also other competent mosquito vectors that infect the disease that
