CDC raises awareness over mosquito-borne viral disease

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued warning for the French Caribbean dependency of St. Martin over the locally spreading mosquito-borne viral disease.

It said it is closely following reports of the chikungunya virus among residents of the French side of a tiny island in the northeast Caribbean marketed as the "The Friendly Island."

This is the first time that the disease typically found in Africa and Asia has been reported in the Western Hemisphere among people who have not travelled recently, suggesting that the virus is now being carried by infected island mosquitoes.

"Microbes know no boundaries, and the appearance of the chikungunya virus in the Western Hemisphere represents another threat to health security," CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement.

The Public Health Agency of Canada also has issued a travel health notice about chikungunya on the Caribbean island.

The World Health Organization has reported 10 confirmed cases in tourism-dependent St. Martin, which splits the island with the Dutch constituent country of St. Maarten.  The disease's further spread to other Caribbean islands, and to surrounding mainland areas, is possible, the CDC said in its advisory for U.S. residents travelling to the French territory.

The virus can cause fever, joint pains, a rash, headaches and muscle and joint pain that can be debilitating and persist for several weeks in severe cases. Because it's spread by infected mosquitoes, travellers to St. Martin are advised to avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants and using air conditioning and window and door screens to keep the bugs out.

There is no vaccine, but the virus is rarely fatal.