Birders who visit SE Asia and New Guinea generally take precautions against
Malaria and Dengue. There is now another mosquito borne virus they will have to
take care with. Chikungunya virus (CKV). Originally from Africa, has now spread
to SE Asia and through the Indonesian archipelago to New Guinea. The carrier
was the mosquito sp Aedes aegypti, but several years ago the virus mutated and
is now carried by the Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) as well. The Tiger
mosquito is active during the day as well as dusk and dawn in urban and rural
areas. It is very active in jungle during the day, hence the alternate common
name, Forest mosquito.
If anyone is planning on a trip to SE Asia, please cover up and slap on your
preferred repellant. This can be a very nasty virus, and the older you are, the
harder it hits you. I was recently in Sabah birding with a friend from the UK.
My friend went on to Thailand birding at the end of our trip. About a week
after he arrived home, he came down with CKV and became critically ill. Three
moths later, he is hoping to be able to return to work on light duties soon.
Here are a couple of pages on CKV you might be interested in having a look at.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2013-07-21/4823184
http://www.health.nt.gov.au/library/scripts/objectifyMedia.aspx?file=pdf/42/83.pdf&siteID=1&str_title=Chikungunya.pdf
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
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