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Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue fever VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A recently arrived mosquito-borne virus that causes an abrupt onset of high fever and intense joint pain is rapidly gaining a foothold in many spots of the Caribbean, health experts said Thursday.
There are currently more than 4,000 confirmed cases of the fast-spreading chikungunya virus in the Caribbean, most of them in the French Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Martin. Another 31,000 suspected cases have been reported across the region of scattered islands.
The often painful illness most commonly found in Asia and Africa was first detected in December in tiny St. Martin. It was the first time that local transmission of chikungunya had been reported in the Americas. Since then, it has spread to nearly a dozen other islands and French Guiana, an overseas department of France on the north shoulder of South America.
West Nile Virus via MicrobeWiki
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| 16.07.2013 | Biological Hazard | USA | State of Louisiana, [Lafayette Parish] |  |
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| Description | |
| West Nile virus surveillance data collected in recent days indicate an outbreak of this mosquito-borne disease in several areas throughout Lafayette Parish, prompting officials to take more intense measures to stem the tide. Scientific test results obtained from dead birds, sentinel chickens and mosquito pools – collections of mosquitoes of same species from a specific area – all indicate a very high level of West Nile virus in the parish, according to a press release. According to Mike Mouton, emergency operations and security coordinator for Lafayette Parish, there are usually one or two hotspots for West Nile infections that are easily handled. In the last three weeks alone, there are eight. “We have stepped up spraying morning and night in the areas that tested positive,” said Mouton. “Then we test the area again after five to seven days of spraying, then we will reassess the situation as needed.” Should these tactics remain ineffective, Mouton said the parish would try aerial spraying in areas of reported infection, something that is typically done in South Louisiana after hurricanes and tropical storms when mosquitoes go on a breeding rampage after the area is saturated. | |
| Biohazard name: | West Nile Virus |
| Biohazard level: | 0/4 — |
| Biohazard desc.: | This does not included biological hazard category. |
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West Nile virus surveillance data collected in recent days indicate an outbreak of this mosquito-borne disease in several areas throughout Lafayette Parish, prompting officials to take more intense measures to stem the tide.
Scientific test results obtained from dead birds, sentinel chickens and mosquito pools — collections of mosquitoes of same species from a specific area — all indicate a very high level of West Nile virus in the parish, according to a press release.
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