Chikungunya surge in Pakistan: What we know about the mosquito-borne virus
Al Jazeera
The virus causes severe joint pain, and cases have been steadily rising in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi since May.
Hospitals in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, are brimming with chikungunya virus patients.
Major government hospitals throughout the city are reporting 500 to 750 suspected cases of the mosquito-borne disease every day, as noted by local media earlier this month, further straining an already struggling public health system.
But what is chikungunya, how does it spread, and why has it hit Pakistan’s most populous city so badly?
Chikungunya is a viral disease that is spread through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitos. These mosquitos also carry and spread dengue and the Zika virus.
The name, chikungunya, derives from a word in the Kimakonde language, spoken in Tanzania and Mozambique, meaning “to become contorted”.
