What are the symptoms?<\/strong><\/p>\n\u2018Chikungunya\u2019 comes from a word used by the Makonde people in Tanzania, where the disease was first discovered in the 1950s, which means \u201cthat which bends up\u201d. This describes the contorted posture of infected people who experience severe joint pain.<\/p>\n
Alongside joint pain, people can also experience an abrupt onset of fever, joint swelling, muscle pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue and rashes.<\/p>\n
The joint pain can be debilitating and usually lasts for a few days, but it has been known to last for weeks, months or even years.<\/p>\n
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An ARS vector control agent operates as part of the fight against the Chikungunya pandemic by mosquitoes in Saint-Benoit on the French overseas island of La Reunion on April 22, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
If an infected person does not experience joint pain, the symptoms will be mild and can go unrecognised as chikungunya.<\/p>\n
Most people will recover fully from the infection. There have been some occasional cases of eye, heart, and neurological complications, while newborns and older people with underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk of severe disease.<\/p>\n
Patients with severe disease should be hospitalised because of the risk of organ damage or death.<\/p>\n
Once someone has recovered from chikungunya, they are likely to be immune to future chikungunya infections.<\/p>\n
Is there a vaccine?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe UK government has approved vaccines against chikungunya disease, containing a form of the virus that has been weakened so it cannot multiply.<\/p>\n
The vaccine works by training the immune system to recognise the virus, which will then produce specific antibodies to attack it.<\/p>\n
It can only be obtained via a prescription and given to those who plan to travel abroad where the virus is present.<\/p>\n
Last month, the government released a further announcement to say that the Commission on Human Medicines has temporarily restricted the use of the vaccine in people aged 65 and over as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n
To prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes, the World Health Organisation advises using insecticides; wearing clothing that minimises skin exposure; using window and door screens, and insecticide-treated mosquito nets; and applying certain repellants to skin and clothing.<\/p>\n
A travel doctor\u2019s guide on being prepared<\/strong><\/p>\nDr Richard Dawood, a travel medical specialist at Fleet Street Clinic, explained to The Independent how the vaccination can help travellers prevent getting sick from the chikungunya virus.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is a new situation for us. Until a very short time ago, we had no vaccine, and the only approach to prevention was to make careful use of insect repellents and insect precautions. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo now we’ve got this extra tool in the armoury, and because the vaccine gives long-lasting protection, it’s something that could be considered if you are planning to travel over a period of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a fairly expensive vaccine, but if you’re going to be travelling over a period of years to Southern Europe and beyond, it may be something that could be considered.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about getting the vaccination for a trip to France, Mr Dawood advised to look at the decision in terms of where you will be travelling over the next few years rather than in the context of a single trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk from a one-off short trip to France is probably very small,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s been only a very small number of cases so far. So statistically, you’re not very likely to, but over time, as somebody who loves to travel and loves going to hot countries, then I would probably want to be protected against it in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wherever you are travelling, Mr Dawood advised holidaymakers to \u201cdo your homework\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIf there’s an actual outbreak at your destination, then I would say no hesitation, definitely have the vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking a bit of time and getting some really focused travel health advice for your particular trip is very worthwhile because it can save you from getting a vaccine that you don’t need or that may not be sensible for you, and it can help prioritise the really important things for your trip. <\/p>\n
Travel clinics can also offer advice on things like insect bite precautions and reducing the risk in other ways, he added.<\/p>\n
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder\u2019s podcast<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-290850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114914442932658406","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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