A mosquito-borne viral disease similar to dengue fever, which was last reported in 2009 after its first appearance in 2008, has made a 'strong comeback in Bangladesh with 46 people down with the crippling joint pain fever, a top official of the health directorate has said.
"It seems like a public health threat," Prof Be-Nazir Ahmed, director of the disease control, told reporters on Wednesday.
But the people "need not to be worried, rather be aware of mosquito bite", he said.
The reappearance of Chikungunya has triggered concern among officials and doctors as the disease so far treated as mainly a rural scourge has been detected in the capital and its suburbs.
Experts attributed environmental factors for the spread of the vector from its origin Rajshahi district to Dhaka.
"It can attack a large number of people, but usually cause no mortality," Be-Nazir said, adding but the challenge is its diagnosis.
"It's very much similar to dengue fever. But treatment is not the same.
"If a dengue patient gets Chikunguya treatment, the condition might worsen," he said.
Chikungunya is an alpha virus of the family Togaviridae, carried by the aedes albopictus mosquito, in Bangladesh.
The name chikungunya derives from a root verb in the East African Makonde language, meaning "to become contorted" because of severe joint pains.
The first outbreak of the disease was in southern Tanzania in 1952 and it quickly spread to Asia, including India's rural belt.
In 2006, over 7,52,245 cases were detected in Karnataka and 2,59,958 in Maharastra.
In Bangladesh, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research has detected the first outbreak in Dec 2008 at Poba, Rajshahi, and Chapai Nawabganj when some patients showed dengue like symptoms but were tested negative.
Later they were detected as Chikungunya after laboratory tests.
The second outbreak in 2009 was reported at Sathia in Pabna district.
This year, the institute has traced the disease through its surveillance in Dohar under Dhaka.
So far 46 cases -31 at Dohar, 12 at Chapai Nawabganj and three in Dhaka city – were confirmed from laboratory tests at IEDCR and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
The university cannot confirm the addresses of the three Dhaka city patients detected positive in its laboratory as they did not keep their addresses.
"We have to be careful about mosquito bite," Be-Nazir said and that the Chikungunya mosquito breeds in dirty water while aedes aegypti breeds in clean water.
"This year's prolonged and incessant rains caused small collections of water at different places that may cause more mosquito breeding," he said.
As this a new disease for the doctors, the health directorate guidelines say dengue fever lower platelet counts and can trigger bleeding while in Chikungunya patients recover from fever and rashes after a few days.
But the 'crippling pain' in joints continues for more than a month and even years.
"Fever may be subsided in case of chikungunya, but the pain in the joints is severe. Then patients need to administer drugs to ease the pain," Be-Nazir said.
"But if they take the same drug in dengue fever, it might cause bleeding," he said, cautioning 'not to take medication without doctors' advice.'
He suggested community participation to wipe out mosquito breeding sites as the only way to combat the mosquito-borne diseases.
The government has started to prepare an action plan to combat the recurrence of chikungunya while a vector survey will be launched in different districts to see the presence of the mosquito.
A management guideline has been posted on the IEDCR website for doctors, according to Be-Nazir.
"It seems like a public health threat," Prof Be-Nazir Ahmed, director of the disease control, told reporters on Wednesday.
But the people "need not to be worried, rather be aware of mosquito bite", he said.
The reappearance of Chikungunya has triggered concern among officials and doctors as the disease so far treated as mainly a rural scourge has been detected in the capital and its suburbs.
Experts attributed environmental factors for the spread of the vector from its origin Rajshahi district to Dhaka.
"It can attack a large number of people, but usually cause no mortality," Be-Nazir said, adding but the challenge is its diagnosis.
"It's very much similar to dengue fever. But treatment is not the same.
"If a dengue patient gets Chikunguya treatment, the condition might worsen," he said.
Chikungunya is an alpha virus of the family Togaviridae, carried by the aedes albopictus mosquito, in Bangladesh.
The name chikungunya derives from a root verb in the East African Makonde language, meaning "to become contorted" because of severe joint pains.
The first outbreak of the disease was in southern Tanzania in 1952 and it quickly spread to Asia, including India's rural belt.
In 2006, over 7,52,245 cases were detected in Karnataka and 2,59,958 in Maharastra.
In Bangladesh, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research has detected the first outbreak in Dec 2008 at Poba, Rajshahi, and Chapai Nawabganj when some patients showed dengue like symptoms but were tested negative.
Later they were detected as Chikungunya after laboratory tests.
The second outbreak in 2009 was reported at Sathia in Pabna district.
This year, the institute has traced the disease through its surveillance in Dohar under Dhaka.
So far 46 cases -31 at Dohar, 12 at Chapai Nawabganj and three in Dhaka city – were confirmed from laboratory tests at IEDCR and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
The university cannot confirm the addresses of the three Dhaka city patients detected positive in its laboratory as they did not keep their addresses.
"We have to be careful about mosquito bite," Be-Nazir said and that the Chikungunya mosquito breeds in dirty water while aedes aegypti breeds in clean water.
"This year's prolonged and incessant rains caused small collections of water at different places that may cause more mosquito breeding," he said.
As this a new disease for the doctors, the health directorate guidelines say dengue fever lower platelet counts and can trigger bleeding while in Chikungunya patients recover from fever and rashes after a few days.
But the 'crippling pain' in joints continues for more than a month and even years.
"Fever may be subsided in case of chikungunya, but the pain in the joints is severe. Then patients need to administer drugs to ease the pain," Be-Nazir said.
"But if they take the same drug in dengue fever, it might cause bleeding," he said, cautioning 'not to take medication without doctors' advice.'
He suggested community participation to wipe out mosquito breeding sites as the only way to combat the mosquito-borne diseases.
The government has started to prepare an action plan to combat the recurrence of chikungunya while a vector survey will be launched in different districts to see the presence of the mosquito.
A management guideline has been posted on the IEDCR website for doctors, according to Be-Nazir.
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