The doctor called joint soreness a distinctive feature of chikungunya fever

With chikungunya fever, an outbreak of which has been recorded in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, joint soreness is observed. Karl Chukwuemeka, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases with courses in Epidemiology and Phthisiology at RUDN University, told Izvestia about this on May 27.

"As with all infectious diseases, there is a mild course of chikungunya fever, sometimes severe, sometimes asymptomatic. With a mild course, the patient may have symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections. A distinctive sign for chikungunya, which, in general, is similar to dengue fever, is that the patient has persistent joint soreness," the specialist said.

He added that doctors are faced with the task of differentiating fever, the main carrier of which are mosquitoes.

According to the expert, the disease is widespread in Southeast Asia, with outbreaks now in Sri Lanka and India. For prevention, it is important to take into account the time of mosquito activity: it mainly occurs during the rainy season, which is currently taking place in the region.

Methods of infection prevention are non-specific, prevention is aimed at minimizing the risk of infection through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

These measures include the use of insect repellents and the wearing of closed clothing.

"It is necessary to use approved repellents," the specialist emphasized.

It is also important to take into account the time of activity of insect vectors during the day: if the malaria mosquito is active at night, then the vectors of chikungunya are active in the morning and evening.

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