Chikungunya spreads post floods

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New Delhi: With many areas of the country drowned in floods a rare form of viral disease Chikungunya has been affecting lakhs of people.

Chikungunya viral fever is spread by mosquitoes and it is characterised by fever and severe joint pains.

Lakshmi is a patient of Chikungunya and she has never been so weak, it has almost left her paralytic.

"I'm suffering from joint pains. My hands and legs have swollen. I can't sit, stand or walk on my own," Lakshmi Devi from Hyderabad says.

Lakshmi is one of the lucky ones to have received treatment for the disease. More than 5 lakh people are suffering from Chikungunya in Andhra Pradesh. But only a few thousand are getting medical attention.

The disease is not confined to any particular section of society. Just anybody can get the waterborne disease.

Chikungunya in India was first reported in Andhra Pradesh. The disease first detected in cities has since spread to more than 5,000 villages in the state. However, doctors say Chikungunya is not a killer disease.

Hospitals are not taking any chances, and are well equipped to fight the disease.

"In the monsoon season, many other diseases like Malaria are more life-threatening. Chikungunya is a non-life-threatening disease. But we are definitely equipped to deal with the epidemic," says Dr S Shiva Kumar, Consultant Physician of Stanley Medical College in Chennai.

The disease is spreading fast. More than 48,000 suspected cases of the disease have been reported in Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra has reported 145 cases.

In Karnataka more than 2 lakh 50 thousand people have been affected. Andhra Pradesh has the largest numbers - more than five lakh people have been infected with the diseas

Doctors say there is no other known treatment for Chikungunya other than Paracetamol and some anti-biotics. They actually treat patients for their symptoms.

Experts warn that if the authorities fail to control Chikungunya at the earliest, it may have a cascading effect.