Guyana has confirmed two cases of the chikungunya virus and health officials said they would step up their vector control exercise in the areas where the cases had been detected.
Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran said the two cases were of a toddler and a woman from the Cumberland and Canefield, Canje areas in Region Six.
He said the two cases of the mosquito borne virus had been confirmed by the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPA) after 30 samples had been sent there for testing.
The most common symptoms of Chikungunya are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.
Chikungunya, a virus more commonly found in Africa and Asia and transmitted by the same daytime-biting aedes aegypti mosquito that causes the more deadly dengue fever, was first detected in the eastern Caribbean five months ago.
Since then, it has jumped from island to island, sending thousands of patients to the hospital with painful joints, pounding headaches and spiking fevers. Chikungunya is normally not deadly and symptoms begin to dissipate within a week.
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