Dozens of cases of a potentially debilitating vector-borne disease have been identified in the United Kingdom this year, the BBC reports, almost twice as many as last year.
What’s happening?
On the surface, this uptick in cases of chikungunya virus might not appear to be concerning in scale.
In all, 73 people in the U.K. contracted chikungunya, up from 27 in the same span of time in 2024 — a 170% increase in cases.
Chikungunya is a vector-borne illness, infecting humans through mosquito bites. Although it’s rarely fatal, chikungunya’s symptoms are not unlike dengue fever and Zika, including joint swelling, rashes, and fatigue.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outbreaks tend to emerge in tropical or subtropical regions, and chikungunya cannot spread from person to person. In the U.K., the cases diagnosed in 2025 were all associated with trips abroad.
U.K. Health Security Agency public health consultant Dr. Philip Veal told the BBC that the surge was concerning.
“Chikungunya can be a nasty disease and we’re seeing a worrying increase in cases among travellers returning to the U.K.,” Veal observed.
Why are public health experts so worried?
On August 19, the New York Times reported that nearly a quarter of a million cases of the chikungunya virus were recorded in 2025, the vast majority in Latin America.
However, 8,000 cases occurred in China, where the disease had not previously been observed — and the World Health Organization expressed concern about an outbreak similar to one that occurred two decades ago.
That outbreak wound up “contributing to a surge of new disabilities” due to lingering effects of the disease, per WHO chikungunya expert Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez.
“You have people who were working, with no disabilities, and from one day to the next, they cannot even type on a phone, they can’t hold a pen,” said Alvarez, who added that the illness had adverse impacts on quality of life and economies at large.
The Times emphasized two ways rapidly shifting climate patterns are exacerbating the spread, one of which was a concordant increase in extreme weather incidents.
“A warmer, wetter world provides more suitable habitat. And extreme weather events can cause more breeding in floods — or displace people, who cluster in areas with poor water and sanitation supply,” the paper explained.
What’s being done about it?
On August 18, Rep. Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey introduced a bipartisan bill, the Battling Infections Transmitted by Ticks and Exposure (BITE) Act.
It’s one of three pieces of pending legislation focused on tick-borne disease, and would “create the world’s first national response system for Lyme disease and other vector-borne illnesses.”
Speaking to the BBC, Dr. Veal reminded readers that small acts of prevention “can greatly reduce the risk.”
He recommended treated mosquito nets for sleeping, covering exposed skin outdoors, and using insecticides as effective, simple precautions.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Source link
