UNE鈥檚 Meghan May interviewed about mosquito-borne illnesses
Meghan May, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and infectious disease in the 51品茶 College of Osteopathic Medicine, was interviewed by HealthZette about the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses worldwide.
According to the article, the Zika virus is no longer considered an international health emergency but cases have been reported in 60 countries and territories since the outbreak began last year in Brazil. Additionally, a case of Mayaro virus was reported in Haiti. It is typically found in South America and spread by the same type of mosquitos as Zika.
"The case of a child in Haiti with no travel history suggests Mayaro also circulates in the Caribbean," May said. "It isn't surprising to me [that] it would have been circulating undetected potentially for a long time, because it is so easily confused with both chikungunya disease and dengue fever. As far as we know, the long-term effect of Mayaro virus that's most concerning is that of chronic pain. Bone and joint pain persists long past infection for some patients, and it can be quite debilitating."
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