Chikungunya, first indigenous case in Veneto: 64-year-old infected

An extraordinary disinfestation operation has been ordered. Experts point out that "it is not transmitted from human to human, but by infected mosquitoes."

The first autochthonous case of Chikungunya in Veneto . The infection was diagnosed in a 64-year-old woman living in a hamlet in the municipality of Negrar di Valpolicella in the Verona area. She had no history of recent travel to countries where the disease is endemic, the Region explained in a statement. The Department of Infectious, Tropical, and Microbiology Diseases at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria in Negrar is handling the case. The Veneto Prevention Directorate, according to the statement, is in constant contact with the Verona healthcare facility and reports that the patient is "hospitalized, alert, and actively collaborating with the doctors."

Upon receiving notification of the case, the Region, in collaboration with the ULSS 9 Health Authority and the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the Veneto, activated the required surveillance measures: in-depth epidemiological investigation of the case, including an assessment of potential risk exposure; entomological monitoring; activation of extraordinary disinfestation procedures; health surveillance measures aimed at other individuals in places of potential exposure and increased syndromic surveillance in emergency rooms. To date, in Veneto, experts explain, all confirmed cases of Chikungunya were related to travel to endemic areas . The identification of a native case "therefore represents a significant event , likely linked to the increase in international travel during the summer, with the return of people from countries where the disease is present and to climatic conditions favorable to the proliferation of the tiger mosquito."

Chikungunya, according to Prevention experts, is "a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes of the Aedes genus , particularly Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito). It most frequently manifests with a sudden high fever and severe joint pain that can persist for weeks or months. Other common symptoms include muscle pain, headache, rash, fatigue, and, in some cases, joint swelling. Although the disease is generally self-limiting, in some people, especially the elderly or those with pre-existing medical conditions, it can cause prolonged symptoms or complications." Experts therefore clarify that Chikungunya is not transmitted from person to person, but only through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. Infection occurs when a mosquito bites an infected person and, after an incubation period, can transmit the infection to healthy individuals with subsequent bites.