An outbreak of Chikungunya virus has been seen in the Caribbean. The virus, more commonly found in Africa and Asia has been carried over to the Caribbean islands. Thousands of patients are being seen daily in small clinics and hospitals across islands searching for a cure for the severe fevers, headaches and muscle spasms. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are attempting to respond to the surge of medical demands, all steaming from this virus.
Unfortunately, there is no vaccine or cure for the virus and over the counter painkillers is the only medicine being proscribed to reduce fever and headache. Even these limited medicinal resource are dwindling and the price for paracetamol (the painkiller/fever reducer) has doubled in Haiti over the past week. The World Health Organization predicts that chikungunya will continue to spread, specifically in Haiti and the Dominican Republic due to mosquito's tendency to breed around open, stagnant water, much like the water containers seen in Haiti homes due to lack of running water.
-Alexandra Dominguez
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/23/chikungunya-caribbeanvirus.html
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