Chikungunya in Mississippi: The Health Department Response to Imported Cases.

Abstract

Chikungunya (CHIK), a newly recognized mosquito-borne disease in the Western Hemisphere, has resulted in well over a million cases since December 2013. Only about a dozen locally-acquired cases thus far have been reported in the U. S. (Florida), but approximately 1500 imported cases have been seen in returning travelers from the Caribbean and Central and South America. Public health officials are concerned that imported cases may lead to infection of local mosquitoes and, thus disease transmission. This paper documents 9 confirmed CHIK cases in Mississippi: 5 resulting from travel to the Dominican Republic, 2 from Haiti, 1 from Honduras, and 1 from Puerto Rico. In addition, the Mississippi State Department of Health response to those cases is presented and discussed.