SWABI: District health officer Dr Mohammad Niaz disclosed on Friday that 79 cases of chikungunya had been confirmed by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, after the blood samples were sent there.

He told Dawn the disease had broken out in Gandaf village of Topi and Sherdara village of Razaar.

The two affected villages are located in mountains, he said, adding he had spent an entire day at Gandaf village in Gadoon Amazai belt, meeting elders, health officials and local government members on how to check the disease.

He said a team from NIH had also reached the district to analyse the cause of chikungunya.

Dr Niaz said medical camps had been set up in Gandaf and Sherdara and the health teams worked round the clock to take care of the patients and educate others about the precautionary measures.

He said 47 cases had been confirmed in Gandaf village and 32 in Sherdara village.

Health officials said chikungunya was a viral disease which was transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

They said the proximity of mosquito breeding grounds to residential areas was a great risk factor for chikungunya and that they were guiding the locals on how to take measures to stop further spread of the disease.

They said in the past both dengue and chikungunya were considered synonymous but the medical research had proved that these were two different diseases.

The locals said majority of the patients initially thought that they were suffering from dengue fever, but the medical tests conducted by the health authorities showed that they were suffering from chikungunya.

The health officials said prevention and control relies heavily on reducing the number of natural and artificial water-filled container habitats that help in breeding of the mosquitoes.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2017