Four countries experience outbreaks of incurable mosquito-borne disease: CDC warns travelers

US health authorities have issued recommendations for travelers planning trips to certain tropical countries due to outbreaks of an incurable mosquito-borne disease, UNN reports with reference to the New York Post.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that they had issued Level 2 travel advisories for Cuba, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China's southern Guangdong province, advising "enhanced precautions" when visiting these areas.

US health officials say there is currently no cure for chikungunya, but the disease can be prevented through vaccination, and vaccination is recommended for travelers heading to affected areas.

The most common symptoms of the virus include fever and joint pain, although patients may also experience headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash, according to US health officials.

Symptoms usually appear three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, and most people recover within a week.

In severe cases, some patients may experience severe joint pain lasting for months or even years, while others "may require hospitalization due to the risk of organ damage and death," according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to a WHO report on October 3, 445,000 suspected and confirmed cases of chikungunya and 155 deaths were reported worldwide from January to September 2025.

In Bangladesh, WHO reported 700 possible cases of chikungunya in the capital Dhaka between January and September 2025, citing data from the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research. As of the end of September, a total of 16,000 cases of local chikungunya transmission had been confirmed in China's Guangdong province, making it the largest documented outbreak of the disease in the country to date. Between January and the end of September, 34 confirmed cases of chikungunya were reported in Cuba, and public health measures were taken to contain the outbreak. In Sri Lanka, a total of 150 confirmed cases of chikungunya were reported between January 1 and the second week of March 2025, WHO said, adding that the peak incidence occurred in June.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that travelers to Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand may also face an increased risk of contracting chikungunya.

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