New Delhi, 4 October (IANS). Chikungunya cases have increased to more than 4.4 lakhs from January to September this year from January to September this year. The recent report of the World Health Organization (WHO) states that during this period 155 people have died from Chikungunya.
Chikungunya outbreak is being seen in 40 countries, including some countries where the number of cases was not much earlier.
The WHO report said, “A total of 4,45,271 people have been found infected with Chikungunya between January and September 2025.
Chikungunya is currently spreading the most in the US region, where more than 3,28,920 cases have been reported. This is followed by Europe’s number, where 56,456 cases have been confirmed mainly from French overseas areas. 40 people have died in this area.
In India, between 1 January to 31 March 2025, a total of 30,876 suspected cases and 1,741 confirmed cases were registered. Most of the cases of this disease have been reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. However, no death from Chikungunya has been recorded in India so far.
A new research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health has shown that around 1.40 million people in the world are struggling with the threat of being infected with Chikungunya every year.
The study is led by scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has said that Chikungunya can see the most impact in India. It is estimated that every year about 51 lakh people in India will be at risk of this disease.
Brazil and Indonesia can also be greatly affected by the disease. Cases in India and Brazil may be responsible for more than half of the world’s chikungunya cases and pressure on health systems. The disease is spread by a mosquito bites named Aedes. This can prove to be dangerous for children, old people, and already sick people.
Chikungunya spreads by mosquito bites, especially Aedes atepti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are the major carriers of the disease. These mosquitoes also spread other diseases like dengue and zika. The disease spreads in new areas when infected people travel there and local mosquitoes start spreading this virus.
-IANS
PK/GKT