How is Chikungunya Spread?
You can get chikungunya by being bitten by an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes pick up the virus from feeding on infected humans, and likely also from infected animals including monkeys. Although the virus is not generally spread from person-to-person, there is at least one report of a nurse becoming infected from a patient’s blood sample. Is an Epidemic Possible? Chikungunya is transmitted primarily by mosquito species native to tropical areas, not the more common house mosquitoes found across the United States (which can transmit West Nile virus). Because of this, some say a chikungunya epidemic is unlikely in the United States. “Chikungunya could enter someplace like Miami and maybe cause a localized epidemic, but it’s unlikely to establish itself long term,” said Dr. Grant L. Campbell, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But it could establish itself in a place like Honduras.” However, with international travel becoming increasingly popular (
