CHIKUNGUNYA |
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1.
What is chikungunya ? Chikungunya
is a fever caused by Chikungunya virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
which breads in clean water stagnation in artificial containers. 2. What are the signs and symptoms of Chikungunya? One to three days fever followed by headache,
vomiting, photophobia, joint pain and swelling with or without rashes. If the
fever lasts for more than 3 days, investigations are to be carried out to rule
out the other causes. 3. How to differentiate with other fevers? The
fever will not last long for more than
3 days. The joint swelling and pain
will persist even after the recovery from the fever. The swelling and joint
pain may persist 1- 3 weeks or even months depending on the age of the patient. 4. How chikungunya is transmitted? There
is no direct transmission from the infected person to healthy person. It is
transmitted by the bite of the infected
mosquito. 5. Will Chikungunya cause death? No.
Worldwide statistics and WHO reports clearly show that Chikungunya do
not cause death. There
may be deaths due to various other causes during Chikungunya out break. These deaths are often reported in the media
as due to Chikungunya which is incorrect. 6.
Is there specific treatment for Chikungunya? There
is no specific treatment but drugs like paracetamol, diclofenac sodium,
chlroquine are used to relieve fever, joint pains and swelling. Drugs like asprin and steroids should be
avoided. 7.
Is there any treatment under Indian System of Medicine? Yes,
effective medicine are available. The
following medicines are being used.
8.
What is the situation in Tamil Nadu ? Now
the disease is in the verge of total elimination. 9.
Is there a vaccine for Chikungunya? No. 10.
Whether the person once recovered from the disease will he/ she get it again? No.
One attack of Chikungunya will give life long immunity . 11.
Do we need a blood test for all Chikungunya cases? No.
There is no need to do blood test to confirm Chikungunya. Clinical diagnosis is enough. Fever with
joint pain followed by swelling are the cardinal signs of Chikungunya. 12.
How did Chikungunya occurred after 42
years? The
first out break of Chikungunya reported
during 1963 at Calcutta and in 1964 in Chennai. Due to the change in the structure of the virus the disease has
re-emerged. 13.
What is the status in Tamil Nadu? The
first outbreak of Chikungunya reported
in Vellore on 20th March 2006 and thereafter spread to other parts
of Tamil Nadu. The worst affected districts are Vellore, Namakkal, Dharmapuri
and Krishnagiri districts. Till October 2006 there are 64,500 cases 14.
What is the best way to prevent Chikungunya ? There
is no direct human to human transmission. The infection is transmitted only
through bite of infected mosquito. The best way of prevention is to eliminate
domestic and peridomestic breeding of mosquitoes. 15.
Where do the Aedes agypti mosquito breed? The
Aedes agypti mosquito breeds in clean water stored in artificial water
containers within the house.
These mosquito also breeds in discarded and unused containers like coconut shells, grinding stone, plastic
cups, old tyres, mud pots etc. 16.
How to eliminate the breeding of mosquitoes? Remove
all unwanted water containers around the houses Inside
the house, the easiest way is to cover all water containers with cloth
including the cement tubs, drums and vessels.
This will prevent mosquitoes laying of eggs and thereby prevent mosquito breeding. 17.
What is ‘Operation Chikungunya 2006’? Operation
Chikungunya 2006 includes:
18.
How Operation Chikungunya 2006 is carried out? The
PHC area is divided into 6 day blocks. Each day block is allotted to a group of
health workers. Every day the team will
go to their allotted areas, visit house to house and carry out all the above
said activities. Nearly 35,000 health functionaries are involved in these
activities. 19.
How anti larval and anti adult measures are carried out? Temephos
is a chemical used to carry out anti larval activities. 2.5 ml in 10 litres of clean water will give
a dilution less than 1 ppm. This stock solution is applied to the water
containers based on the height of the
water columns. Pyrethrum
extracts is used to carry out anti adult measures by fogging operation. 20.
Are these chemicals hazardous to human
beings and animals? No. These chemicals are very safe for human beings and animals in the dilutions used
for anti larval activities. 21.
What are the other diseases transmitted by aedes agypti mosquitoes? Dengue and Yellow fever 22.
What are the other diseases transmitted by other types of mosquitoes? Anopheline
mosquito which breeds in clean water like wells, overhead tanks and sumps – transmits malaria Culex
mosquito which breeds in sewage and sullage
water, drains and septic tanks - transmits filariasis. Another
species of culex mosquito which breeds in paddy fields - transmits Japanese
Encephalitis (Brain fever) 23.
What are the personal protective measures against mosquito bites? Mosquito nets and repellants
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